Learning Thirteen
by proudofubabe
Summary: Follow Stephanie as she learns to take her life more seriously. Morelli friendly, but a babe story.
1. Prologue

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

_**Prologue**_

He pressed my body down again into the sand, claiming my mouth. The water touched us and retreated. I was climbing higher and higher, begging with my body to reach the top. My mouth dropped open, shouting, "Beep, beep, beep, beep …." Everything changed. I was confused. Where was the sand, the water, the body pressing me down, pushing into me? Ranger was suddenly standing in front of me, his lips tipped up at the corners. I reached for him, and there it was … again! That damn beeping sound.

I was awake, my dreams lost, but my pillow was soft, and I was flat out refusing to open my eyes. Not that it mattered one little bit. The beeping continued. I buried my head under the comforter. No use! The beeping was in my head, pounding, keeping me from finding my Ranger dreams again. For the love of all that is holy, was it too much for a girl to ask to get some sleep around here? I gave up after another minute and rolled out of bed, glaring at the noisemaker. Whoever invented the alarm clock needed to be shot! I reached over and slapped the off button, tempted to bounce the thing off the wall. I gave into a full body stretch, while giving a last wistful look at my warm bed, and trudged into the bathroom.

Fuck I was tired. I had a late night bringing in a skip, so 5:30am was waaay too early to get out of bed. I shuffled over to the sink and brushed my teeth with my eyes closed. I think I fell asleep for a second or two. I cupped my hands under the freezing stream of water and splashed my face, letting out a shriek when the water ran down my arms and into my shirt. Once my eyes were functioning correctly, I looked in the mirror and shuddered when I saw my Bride of Frankenstein hair. So much for natural beauty. I brushed the rat's nest into a ponytail and padded back into my bedroom. I shuffled around in the dark for something to wear. I dropped my nightclothes and wiggled into a sports bra, warm-ups, a t-shirt, a hoodie, and sneakers. Lastly, I strapped on my ankle band and grabbed my HK P30 9mm pistol from the nightstand drawer.

I was out the door and down the stairs, seconds later, gun at my side. As I walked across the parking lot, my eyes constantly roamed. Ranger would be proud that I was finally aware of my surroundings. I keyed open the car and got in before slipping my gun into my ankle band.

It was Friday morning in late October. The black sky was completely clear and filled with stars, and the temperature was in the low thirties. The perfect time and temp for a run in the park. Something I didn't think I'd ever want to do voluntarily. But in the past nine weeks everything changed. Nine weeks since Scrog shot Ranger. Nine weeks since I realized I was in love with two men. Nine weeks since Joe informed me he accepted an out of town assignment.

The day Joe left, I wasted the day feeling sorry for myself. In fact I cried myself into a solution. I realized I was at a point in my life where I needed to fish or cut bait. It was time for me to get serious about my job and my personal life. So I called Lula and we decided to become partners at the bond office. We made a list of what we wanted to do professionally, and I made a list of what I _needed_ to do on a personal level. We called it Operation Grow the Fuck Up. Naturally we kept our little operation to ourselves, but as time went by, it was getting harder and harder to keep our secret. It was time to share what we'd been up to. We weren't finished with our operation. Not finished by a long shot, but it'd changed names somewhere along the way. We grew up. We were serious about our jobs, about our lives. Now we were aiming for Operation Become Bad asses.


	2. Chapter One

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter One**

I parked my car on North Lenape Avenue just as Lula got out of her car. She wasn't smiling, but she still looked great. She wasn't a super model, but she was down about seventy pounds. She hadn't changed much though. She was still bright as ever in her neon green warm-ups. Thankfully her hair didn't match, though. She was styling brown this week.

As for myself, I didn't have too much weight I needed to lose mostly I just need to tone up. I was soft in other words. The softness was now toned. But most importantly I didn't need to worry about a fat roll hanging over my jeans anymore.

"Hey girl," Lula said, dragging her feet. "Your skinny white ass as tired as mine this mornin'."

"Damn straight." I said. "Let's get to it."

"If we must."

Since it was a weekday we only ran three miles and went to defense training when we were finished. We started with a light jog down the well light side trail where we parked. We slowly jogged along the river's edge and across the bridge. Once the side trail met with the main park path, we stopped to stretch. Then we set our pace at a moderate run and finished three miles twenty-four minutes later. We run an eight-minute mile. It wasn't marathon speed or Ranger speed, but it was fast enough. Once finished with the three miles we slowed to a jog and finally a walk until we were back to our cars. We did another quick stretch and left for our defense training session.

We trained every weekday morning for two hours. It was a private session with just our instructor Tanner, his assistant James, Lula, and I. When we first started we wanted to kill them, but now we loved our sessions. They kicked our asses and made us work really hard, but the end results for the past eight weeks were worth it.

"Good morning ladies," Tanner said, grinning. "You ready to get started?"

Tanner was our main trainer. He was 33, 6'3" with green eyes, dimples to die for, straight white teeth, yummy mocha skin, and light brown hair that he kept short, but I could tell it was curly. He was one finely sculpted man. Not Ranger muscle, but definitely well toned. He was also a seriously sexy man, but not quite in the ballpark with Morelli and Ranger.

We placed all our stuff on the bench beside the mats, slipped out of our shoes, and walked out to start our warm-up. The nice thing about training with Tanner and James was they actually specified the training program to us and they pushed us, coached us, as we worked out. Plus they're fun guys and we'd all gotten to know each other quite well.

James came out of the back room just as we stepped onto the mats. He was wearing an impressive smile this morning. He must have had a fun night. I heard Lula chuckle next to me. James was a nicely toned young black man. He was only 26 and lovin' life as a little player. We knew he had a date last night with a little 23-year-old college student. He must have charmed the pants right off of her judging by the look on his face.

"Somebody got some last night," Lula said to him in a singsong voice.

James didn't care. Nothing was wiping that smile off his face. It must have been good. I was jealous. It had been far too long since I'd sported the smile of a thoroughly satisfied woman.

We did a five minute warm-up, and then our strength-training workout, which was yoga today. After 40 minutes, we were moving onto defense training.

"Review day ladies as you know. Elbow strikes, knee strikes, and take-down twenty minute drills. We'll be striking at about 75%," Tanner said to us as we moved on to our training.

After an hour we packed up.

"See you two next week. Good luck with your announcements today," James said to us. He blew each of us a kiss as he exited to the back room.

Tanner gave us a wide grin and a wink as Lula and I walked out of the building to our cars.

I got to my apartment door and removed the gun from my ankle holster. This was getting old. I didn't want to search my apartment with a gun in my hand anymore. Once I cleared the apartment, I started my morning routine – shower, get dressed, start coffee, apply makeup, and lastly combed the rat's nest I like to call my hair. Beautiful and armed with a cup of coffee, I stared at my phone.

I wanted to call Ranger. I wanted him to feel how excited and happy I was this morning. Throughout the past eight weeks I'd called or seen him every four days so he wouldn't get suspicious about anything. It didn't work of course because it was hard to get anything past Ranger. I managed to convince him to let it go, though, and that I would tell him everything soon. I didn't think he knew much more than that I was getting in shape. It was hard not to notice after all. He also knew when I would be calling like clock work, and today was not a designated day for him to hear from me.

"You dial the wrong number?" Ranger said, his voice clearly amused.

"I was looking for Carlos Manoso. Most people call him Ranger, but only I can call him my Professor Higgins. You him?" I asked, smiling.

"Babe."

"Yeah that's what he calls me. You aren't saying that's your name are you, because that would just be confusing if we both go by Babe."

"Careful," he said, chuckling.

I laughed softly. "That just takes all the fun out of everything. I thought you wanted to play this morning Higgins."

"You're playing with fire," he said, his voice dropping to a husky tone.

"I know. I'm hoping to get burned," I said back in my sex-kitten voice.

He groaned softly. "It's not a good idea to bait me."

"My favorite Merry Man told me my Higgins had a doctor's appointment yesterday. Have you been cleared for _all_ physical activity?" I asked, felling braver than I would if I was standing face to face with him.

"Babe," he said after a brief pause.

I laughed softly again. "I'll take that as a yes. So I guess that means you get to exercise again. You up for a five mile run tomorrow morning?" I asked, but didn't wait for a reply. "I'm telling you now though, if you don't keep up you get left behind."

His full on laugh echoed through the phone to my ear, leaving me with a smile that touched my eyes and filled my heart with joy. It was a treasure I didn't get treated to very often.

"God I love hearing you laugh."

"You just made my day. You never disappoint, Babe."

"Hope I never do. I gotta go pick up my partner in crime, but I'll see you in a little bit."

"I get to see you today?"

"Of course you do. You don't think for a second Eliza Doolittle would pass up the chance to see her sexy Professor Higgins do you? Gotta go Baby," I said and hung up. I was flushed and quite flustered. It was strange how easy it was to talk to him now.

I drove to Lula's apartment on 6th Street to pick her up and continued for a few blocks to Marksman's Pistol Institute where we had a range membership and our training. We just finished a week training course of using cover while moving and shooting. Each week we did a different training course for four days, and then spent three days in the shooting range for an hour. By the time the hour was up, I was on a high. I was always on a high after shooting. I couldn't remember being scared of my gun anymore. It seemed strange to me that I ever was.

We left the institute and headed to pick up donuts before stopping in at the bonds office to pick up new files.

We walked through the door at the office and Connie, the pit bull office manager, looked up from filing her nails. Connie ran the office. She handed out the FTAs, and she also handed out the paychecks when an FTA was tossed back in the clink.

"Hey Connie. We took Williams in last night," I said, handing her the body receipt and sat the donut box down on the edge of her desk. "Got any new files?"

"Three for you ladies. There's a bad one in there," she told us with a frown as she took out the book to write out our checks, but not before she grabbed a doughnut. "I don't know if I like you two taking on Ranger's level of skips. I know you've been training up in all, but she's a nasty piece of work."

"She?" I asked, getting a nod from Connie. "Three huh. We already have two out. How many does Joyce have out right now?" I grabbed a doughnut myself.

Joyce is my archenemy. She inherited the position when I caught her banging my husband on my dinning room table even before the ink was dry on my marriage license. She is the antichrist, even if she did do me a favor by helping me get rid of the Dick. She became a bounty hunter just to spite me. She's been a royal pain in my ass since the day she showed up in the office.

"She has four out and one waiting for her this morning. You need to bring Uterway in the next three days, and we lose the bond on Yingler in five days."

"We know. We're working on them, but we're not getting anywhere. Uterway is a regular at Autumn Realm, the nightclub on Victoria Avenue. We talked to the owner, manager, and all the employees, but nobody has seen him since before he was arrested. He also frequents Neon Bar on Hanover Street, but again hasn't been seen since before he was arrested. We have lots of people watching for him, so all we can do is wait. If he's still in the area he'll eventually be seen. If he's not in the area we don't know where to look. We've run out of leads. As for Yingler, he's evading us. Whenever he makes an appearance by the time we get there he's gone again. So either our timing's off or he has just as many informants helping him as we do. We'll catch him. He won't evade us forever."

I grabbed the three new files and joined Lula on the couch, where she enjoyed her doughnut while watching Marvin the filing machine. She had a satisfied smile playing on the corner of her lips. She didn't miss filing. I opened the top file and began the reading.

"Okay first up is Quincy Pacton. Stats are white male, age 22, 5'11", 170 pounds, brown hair, and green eyes. He's a first time offender. He was released on $25,000.00 bond for charges of paraphernalia, three counts of cruelty to animals, possession of marijuana, and possession of a narcotic. I guess he didn't want his puppies, since he was caught with three in a garbage bag and was attempting to drown them," I read.

"Huh. Sounds to me like we need to stop off at the 7-11 and get us some garbage sacks before pickin' him up. I think we otta personally introduce the little fucker to the inside of a Heft bag," Lula said with her eyebrow raised.

"Contestant number two is Windy Otto. Stats are white female, age 29, 5'3", 108 pounds, brown hair, and blue eyes. She's also a first timer. She was released on $75,000.00 bond for possession of precursors with intent to manufacture PCP or Meth, abuse or endangering the health of a child, child present at a Meth lab, possession of controlled substance, and paraphernalia. Wow we're just loaded with winners today. Apparently she is the mother of an 18-month-old little boy and the neighbors were getting suspicious of how he was being treated so they called CPS. After investigating they found he was not being fed and bathed properly. The house was filthy and the only food in the house was junk food. They also found the house was a Meth lab. The little boy was taken to the hospital to be treated."

Lula made a disgusted nostril flare and nodded for me to open the third file.

"Rounding out today's lovely felons is Eliza Isakson. Stats are white female, age 38, 5'9", 133 pounds, blond hair, and green eyes. She was released on $250,000.00 bond. She was arrested for disturbing the peace, vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon likely to produce great bodily harm, battery with serious bodily injury, infliction of great bodily injury, possession of false identification, paraphernalia, and commission of felony with use of an assault weapon. She followed her boyfriend of five years to Joe's Mill Hill Saloon and waited outside while he went in. After two hours he came back out but with the company of another woman. Isakson parked her car to block them in and proceeded to scream and threaten the two individuals. She then got a bat out of her car and beat the shit out of his car while continuing to threaten and yell. Once she was finished taking out her frustration on the car she ran after the unsuspecting couple and beat them unconscious with the bat. That's when the cops arrived. When they arrested her they found identification in her purse belonging to her cousin and paraphernalia in the glove box," I read shaking my head. "She's not so bad Connie just pissed about getting cheated on. Munson was worse than her. She just has a high bail because of all the charges they got her on."

"I guess," Connie said. "Just be careful you two."

"We'll careful your ass off Cons," Lula said to her.

I dug in my pocket book and got out an envelope containing my new numbers and address. I handed it to Connie. "For your eyes only," I told her.

She handed each of us a check for $1,250.00. Then she opened the envelope I handed her. She raised her eyebrows at me. I think the fact that I was moving to Ewing was a shocker. I had a feeling my family was going to be equally shocked if not more. I'd always lived in the Burg or just outside of it. It wasn't that far away, but it wasn't Trenton.

"We outta here," Lula told the office.

I had a meeting at RangeMan at eleven o'clock and was mentally preparing myself for the conversations that needed to take place. I wasn't sure how Ranger and the other guys were going to react. I was hoping for pleased, even excited. But at the same time I wanted them to take me seriously. It was important to me for some reason that all the guys respected me and trusted me. I was hoping after I talked to all of them about the past eight weeks, they might start to trust me.

Fifteen minutes later I turned onto Haywood Street and parked in front of the seven-story building. We got out of the car and went in through the main lobby.

"Tank just called down, Ms. Plum. The team is just gathering. Mr. Manoso will be arriving within the next five minutes. Go ahead and take the elevator up to the third floor, take a right off the elevator, and go through the door at the end of the hall into the conference room," the guard told us. I thanked him as Lula and I headed to the elevator.

"You ready for this girl?" Lula asked once we were alone in the elevator.

"Sure."

We got off the elevator and paused at the door before knocking and walking in. Every head turned, eyes narrowed, brows raised. The merry men were confused. I'd never been in any of the conference rooms, even when I worked for RangeMan. So I could understand their confusion. Most were probably wondering what I got myself into this time. After all why else would I be entering a RangeMan meeting, right?

"Ranger should be here any minute," Tank said while pointing to the seats directly across from him. "Have a seat ladies."

"What's going on?" Hal asked as we sat down in two chairs between Ram and an empty chair I assumed belonged to Ranger.

I smiled at him just as the conference room door opened. Ranger walked in and looked around the full room clearly confused. He was corporate Mr. Manoso today. He looked delicious in his black suit. It fit him like second skin. This man could wear anything and look like it was custom designed specifically for him. I watched his brows raise in question as he surveyed the room. His body and face screamed control, but I was more interested in the oozing sex appeal. I licked my lips. Damn my hormones. It's been far too long since I'd been laid.

After sweeping the room his eyes landed on me. "Babe?"

I smiled at him. "Told you I would see you in a little bit. Tank called this meeting for me. I have some things I wanted to share with all of you, and then we have some business we need to discuss. Is this okay with you?" I asked him.

Ranger walked to stand between his chair and mine. He looked in my eyes for a moment, and then he eyes fell on the light bruise on my cheek bone. His finger lightly traced it and his eyes moved back to mine. "Why do you have a bruise on your face?" Ranger questioned with his eyebrow raised slightly.

I smiled up at him. "I'm fine, really. And when I'm finished you'll understand the bruise. It's not a big deal."

His eyes got black and his expression cold. Batman didn't like me getting hurt, and he certainly wouldn't think it was no big deal.

"Honestly, Ranger."

He nodded and took a seat at the head of the table. I took a deep breath and looked up at Tank. He gave me an encouraging smile and a wink. I gave him a shaky smile back and looked around the room at all the questioning faces. This was much easier when I rehearsed it in my head.

"Guys this is Lula in case you haven't met her before," I said nodding my head to the side at Lula.

"I asked specifically for each of you to be here for this meeting. Tank has been my partner in crime for the last eight weeks. He's been running interference for me, and doing me a few small favors, however, he doesn't entirely know what I'm going to say to all of you today. I guess I should start at the beginning. Four years and two months ago I blackmailed my cousin Vinnie into giving me a job as a bounty hunter because I needed the money. Four years and two months ago I met Ranger in a coffee shop," I said looking at Ranger. "And he took pity on me. That's when he offered to be my Professor Higgins." I smiled a little at his bemused expression.

"I had zero knowledge or training for the job but I did it anyway, and I had no business what so ever doing it. I was insane and pretty damn stupid for even trying. Not only have I almost gotten myself killed I don't even know how many times, but Ranger as well," I said, looking at Ranger. "He still helped whenever I needed it. It was selfish of me to ask in the first place because I shouldn't have been chasing skips at all. After awhile I think I wore him out because he started assigning big scary men the job of keeping me alive." I paused looking in his eyes. I wanted him to see how much I respected him. How much I loved him. For who he was and for everything he did. Mostly for accepting me, and letting me be me. I smiled a little before turning my eyes to the rest of the room.

"Every man in this room has had some degree of exposure to my insane life. And every man in this room has in some way either directly or indirectly saved my sorry ass from the insane life I lead. So the reason I asked for you all to be here is so I can first off thank you. I know most if not all of you think of me as entertainment, but if it wasn't for all of you I would probably be dead right now. There is no way I could possibly ever repay any of you for all you have done."

"Stephanie," Ranger said, his voice quiet but strangely strong.

I looked at him and shook my head. "Let me finish, please."

He gave a barely there nod and I turned my attention back to the rest of the guys. "Secondly I need to apologize. About a year and half after Ranger and I met he told me there's no cost for what we give each other. Freely given and freely received. A lot has changed between us since that was said, but in a way it still applies. I feel it's been a bit one sided through the years. He's doing all the giving and I'm doing all the receiving, between his cars I destroy and his men I send to the hospital. All of you seem to have been added to that agreement whether you wanted to be or not. I know you get paid to assist me, but no amount of money is worth your life. I'm sorry I've been so selfish and irresponsible for not only my own safety but all of yours as well. I have good instincts but I don't listen to them when it comes to my own safety. When I ignore my safety I'm also ignoring yours, and I'm genuinely sorry for that."

I took a few breaths before continuing. "I've been making some changes in my life over the past eight weeks. I realized I hated my job. I didn't want to chase after felons anymore. I had to drag my sorry ass out of bed every morning and force myself to do the work. I hated it because I was 90 percent incompetent. It's tough liking what you do for a living when you suck at it. Realizing this, left me with two choices, and I needed to make a decision. I either quit bond enforcement all together, which means no working here either, or get serious about my job. Grow the fuck up in other words. I decided on option two," I said grinning. "I asked Lula to be my partner and we decided on a route. We've been busy growing up for the last eight weeks. We aren't finished by any means. But, it's getting harder to keep our little operation a secret. We had specific goals we wanted to meet, and we've met them all. Now it's time to move onto our next section of goals. Getting even better, stronger."

I took a deep breath and plowed on. "I didn't have just professional goals in mind, though. My personal life needed some work, too. I have just one more personal goal that I'm completing today. I'm moving into a new apartment; into Woodbrook House specifically." I looked at Ranger again to gage his reaction. He raised his eyebrow at me and looked down at a file sitting in front of Tank. The name on the file read Michelle Stephens. His almost smile appeared on his face.

"When I learned RangeMan was responsible for the security at the apartment complex I was looking at I knew it was the right one for me. Hell you've all be protecting me for so long may as well continue the tradition. Except now I get to pay for the protection," I said smiling at Ranger. "When I decided on the apartment I talked to the owners with Tank. I explained who I was and that I didn't want every person in Trenton and surrounding areas knowing where I lived. We agreed I could rent the apartment under a different name. That name being Michelle Stephens. I won't be assuming the name in any way. It's just an added protection to keep people from getting through the gate if they figure out where I live by chance.

"I'm taking my safety very seriously now. I changed my phone numbers, I now receive all my mail at a PO Box, and every piece of identifiable information regarding me with my address on it has been changed to the bond office address. Too many times my safety has been in jeopardy because every psycho in Trenton knew where I lived. It's not going to happen any more. I don't want to be an easy target for psychos any longer," I said, looking back at Ranger.

The conference room was very quiet, almost eerie quiet. All the men wore serious expressions. I couldn't read Ranger's face, and it wasn't because it was blank. His face was far from blank, but I didn't know what his expression meant. I'd never seen it before.

"Girl I think you finally killed 'em. You straight up shocked 'em to death," Lula said, looking around the room.

Lester cleared his throat and looked right at me as he spoke evenly. "I can honestly say that we, as a group, have an agreement when it comes to you. You don't owe us a thing. We like you, and we don't like seeing or hearing about you getting hurt. I also think you have the wrong idea about us thinking of you as entertainment. You amuse us, but when we smile and laugh it's not at you. You put so much passion and energy into everything you do, and your tenacity is something we all admire. You find the good in people, and you see past preconceived images. When I first met you I thought here's this little girl trying to play with the big boys. You proved me wrong real quick. I'm honored to have your back, and I'm glad you are taking your safety more seriously. It makes our jobs easier. Do you mind if I ask what you've been doing the last eight weeks?"

I had to blink back the tears threatening to escape. I had no idea how the guys felt about me. I was undone. "Oh, um … we run every day, have a personal trainer for strength and defense training, and weapons training."

"Weapons training?"

"You run?"

"You've been exercising?"

I rolled my eyes and looked at Lula.

"I think they actually got a hard on at the mention of weapons trainer. What do you suppose would happen if you showed 'em your gun?" Lula asked.

Ranger raised his eyebrow at me with a grin. "You carrying, Babe?"

I looked at him. Of course I was carrying. He didn't need me to answer out loud he saw the answer in my eyes. He flashed me his 200-watt smile and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So basically, we've been working on improving our skill level. We picked up lock picking and breaking down doors 101. Plus we started talking to people around town gaining informants. And we knew we needed to get in shape and learn how to defend ourselves, so we got ourselves a personal trainer, which we're with for two hours every weekday morning."

Lula leaned forward. "I personally think the biggest deal is that Steph finally realized she needed to carry her gun at all times, and not in her pocket book. She's had at least one gun somewhere on her body every day for the last eight weeks."

That got the guys' attention really fast.

I smiled. "It was hard at first because I hated guns. I got over it by learning to respect my gun and by learning how to properly use it. We've now completed, as of yesterday, eight handgun courses. We start injured shooting techniques on Monday."

"That's impressive," Ranger said, arms folded over his chest.

"We've been taking on higher bonded skips for the last three weeks, so we spend more time doing surveillance and talking to people rather than rolling in garbage," I said, softly with a smile.

"Proud of you, Babe. Proud of both of you," Ranger said, smiling.

"Thanks. I actually feel like I deserve you being proud of me for the first time ever."

"What kind of strength and defensive training are you doing?" Bobby asked.

"We're in a recovery week from weights with strength training, so it's been yoga, core work, kenpo, and cardio this week." Bobby nodded, eyes serious. "Our trainers use the crawl, walk, run method with training us. We add two new methods each day and do a lot of drills for repetition. We did elbow strikes, knee strikes, and take-down drills today."

"Do you work on elements that will aid you with your job?" Bobby continued.

Lula and I both nodded.

"We work on elbow strikes, knee strikes, hand strikes, kicks, falls, throws and sweeps, take-downs, grappling, grab attack escapes, and manipulation holds," I said.

All the guys nodded with impressed smiles.

"If you should be in the communication room now you are excused. The rest of you may stay. Babe, we'll talk about the rest of your little speech later," he said, his voice serious. I rolled my eyes. "How much do you know about the security we provide at Woodbrook House?"

"Not much. Tank didn't really get into it."

"The apartment complex has a gated entrance and a security guard post. The security code, that we change on the first of every month, opens the gate. Two RangeMan employees guard the gate around the clock in eight-hour shifts. Every two hours one guard walks the grounds and the halls of the complex. The guard has a list of all tenants and their apartment number. They can buzz up directly to each apartment by way of the announcement panel next to the front door. If a person comes to the gate and does not have the security code, the guard will announce the visitor to the tenant. The visitor must know the tenant's name and apartment number to even get to the announcement part. As a tenant you may provide a list of accepted guests to bypass the announcement portion. You may also provide a list of people that have no access. There is a camera at the gate that feeds directly to the communication room here. There are also four cameras in each corner of the property securing the perimeter, which is monitored at the guard station. All entrances to the building and the halls are also on camera. The outside cameras are the only feed monitored unless a problem arises," Ranger explained, and then he looked at Tank. "I want Hector to install a panic button in the announcement panel in Steph's apartment in case of emergencies. Call him after this meeting and find out when he can get to her apartment. I want it done before she's sleeping there."

"No," I said, drawing every eye to me.

"It wasn't up for discussion," Ranger said.

"Does the guy across the hall from me get a panic button installed in his announcement panel? How about the lady below me, or the couple above me; do they all get panic buttons installed in case of emergencies?" I asked, in an even tone.

He didn't respond, nor did his expression change. He wasn't budging.

"Ranger," I sighed, "I picked this apartment because of you, because I trust you completely, and I trust your men. I know you make mistakes; that you're not perfect. I know you can't always protect me, and I know you're using the panic button as a way to protect me when you physically can't. There is no saying I'll even be able to get to the panic button. If some psycho manages to get to me in my new apartment you'll have the upper hand and at least know who he is. If he manages to avoid every camera you have installed in the building no panic button is going to help me, and you know that. The psychos that are normally after me aren't smart enough to get past your security measures. You're good at what you do Ranger. Have faith in the system you've established there; I know I do."

He still didn't look like he was convinced. His eyes were a bit softer, but not giving in, yet.

"Besides home is my safe place now. I don't plan on having any emergencies there. I'm also not the same person my typical psychos went after before. No panic button please," I said, my voice calm and tender.

Ranger locked eyes with me for a moment. The guys were probably thoroughly interested in our relationship, wanting to know exactly what I was to Ranger. Hell I'd like to know that as well.

"Let's make a deal. For now we do things your way. No panic button, but if somebody finds a way to get to you, we do things my way. No complaining. Deal?"

"Deal. Thank you." He gave me the barely there nod.

I looked down at my watch and saw it was twelve o'clock. "Crap. Boy how time flies when you're having fun. I'm meeting up with my family and a few select friends to have this conversation all over again in 30 minutes. I want to start moving before night fall."

"You're moving today?" Ranger asked, shocked.

"If you think I want to spend even one more night in that death trap of an apartment we need to reassess your intelligence level," I said with a smirk.

"Babe." He lifted his eyebrow at me and shook his head slightly. Hard to say if he was amused or appalled.

"The security code for this month," Ranger said, handing me an envelope. "Who's helping you move?"

"As of right now Lula. I'm sure my dad will help, and probably Sally as well. Other wise don't know."

"I'll be there to help after four Steph," Tank said.

"I have a meeting at two, but I'll be over as soon as I'm finished. I'll call when I'm headed over. What's your new cell number?" Ranger asked.

I grabbed an envelope holding my new information and a key to my apartment out of my pocket book, and slid it across the table to Ranger. The other men watched the exchange between us with interest. This was the most interaction any of them had seen between us. Lester was grinning. He was sitting next to Tank. I was almost positive he knew there was a key in the envelope. I smiled at him almost daring him to say something. His grin grew and I, for a second, thought he might take the challenge.

"I'm off today Steph, so I can help as soon as you're ready to start. Just let me know when and where," Hal said, breaking the silent challenge happening between me and Lester.

Lester smirked one last time and then looked at Bobby. They did some form of silent conversation then Lester said, "We're in the field today, but we can help as soon as our shift ends at four."

"Cal and I relieve Les and Bobby, so we can help until then. When and where?" Junior asked.

"Thanks guys I appreciate this. I'm thinking 2:00 at 1411 Parkside Ave. My storage unit is number 24. I've rented a truck to haul it all to my new apartment. I'll keep you fed and watered today." They all smiled.

I dug in my pocket book and took out five business cards, handing one to each of them. "That way you have my cell number," I told them.

"How are you doing with the high end skips, Babe?" Ranger asked me while watching my exchange with his men.

"Good. Tank provided us with some muscle a few times, but we're fine on our own for the most part. I'm sure there will still be times when we might need an extra set of hands. We still do our regulars, but other than that Joyce does all skips under $25,000. We do the rest. We're busy to say the least. For some strange reason about sixty percent of bonds Vinnie issues lately go FTA. This month alone we've had thirty-one fail to appear." Ranger raised is eyebrow at me. "We gotta get going. Places to go, people to see," I said, standing up.

"I'll walk you out," Ranger said as everybody got to their feet.

Tank walked around the table quickly and wrapped Lula up in his arms. We all froze in place as he gave her a bone-melting kiss goodbye. The guys' mouths all dropped open in shock, and then just as quickly turned into mischievous grins. I guess they didn't know about the happy couple. I didn't know they were so into public displays of affection. A little kiss was good, but this was like placing claim. Tank was showing his boys whom this woman belonged to.

"I'll see you later, baby," Tank said, his voice soft.

"Sure, big guy," Lula said to him.

I grinned at the pet name. "You two are disgustingly cute," I said, grinning.

I was actually jealous. It'd been far too long since my toes curled because of a kiss. Sure Ranger kissed me every time I saw him, but he'd been holding back. He hadn't kissed me with intense passion like Tank just kissed Lula with since the day he got back from Florida and that was over nine weeks ago. I snapped out of my daydream and realized Ranger was watching me with his head tipped to the side. We were the only ones left in the conference room.

"I guess I got lost in my thoughts," I said to him.

He closed the distance between us and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. He gently kissed me on the hairline above my ear as he drew me in for a hug. "You want to share those thoughts?" he asked, lips moving against my temple.

I shook my head as I breathed in his scent. "It should be illegal for any man to smell this sexy," I mumbled into his neck.

I felt more than heard his laughter. "Let's get you to your car, before I'm tempted to take you upstairs instead."

"Actually I was wondering if you might be able to join me at my Parents' house. I plan on talking more about the personal side of the last eight weeks. It would be easier if I only had to do it once. There's more stuff that I want to talk to only you about as well, but we can do that later. If you're not busy I would like you to come."

He looked at me for a moment. "Sure. I'll meet you there."

He took my hand and we walked to the elevator. He continued to hold my hand in the elevator, rubbing his thumb softly across my knuckles. We didn't talk at all the entire trip down to the lobby or the walk to the car, but we didn't need to. He held my hand in his and it felt so intimate, so loving. When we reached my car Tank and Lula were waiting on the passenger side.

Ranger tugged at my hand so I looked up at him. He gently brushed a thumb over my bruise again. "You get this training?" he asked.

"Yeah. I told you it wasn't a big deal."

He chuckled lightly. "I'm glad you're doing this. It makes me feel better, but I still don't like seeing marks on your face."

I didn't say anything, as he searched my eyes. What he was searching for, I wasn't sure, but I didn't hold anything back. My heart was beating at heart-attack rate, and I was getting quite hot all over. His gaze was like a caress, touching me all over. He looked at me for a second longer before lowering his mouth to mine. It was slow and soft. Then his tongue touched mine, and my knees buckled. Holy hell! This was a whole new kind of kiss. It wasn't a 'pin me up against a wall and fuck me' kind of kiss, it was love, and it confused me. He pulled back and looked into my eyes again. He smiled and kissed my forehead.

"I'll see you in at your parents'."

I nodded not trusting my voice at the moment. I watched him walk away for a few seconds then I turned around to get into my car and caught Lula and Tank's expressions regarding the display Ranger and I just put on. I smiled slightly and got in the car. What the fuck was that? How do I deal with that? I was use to pressure, but that was above and beyond pressure. That was … shit! I didn't know what that was. I needed to figure out what that was. Ranger was not getting away with what he just did. He was going to explain his actions.

I was startled out of my thinking by the passenger door closing. I didn't even chance a look at Lula. I just started the car and pointed it towards the Burg.

"What was that?" Lula asked me.

"I don't know," I said in all honesty. "But whatever it was thoroughly ruined my panties." I mentally sighed, thinking about the way his lips felt on mine, the way he tasted. I could still taste him.

"No shit. That was hot Girl. Damn and what was with the intense staring contest you two were having before the kiss and the hand-holding. You two looked like a couple when you left the lobby."

"We've held hands before, but this time it felt different. I liked it if I'm being honest. It felt great, and he didn't let go until he walked away. It was so intimate. How can something as simple as him taking my hand feel so intimate? I feel so guilty for allowing something that intimate to happen. I think that might have been worse than just having sex with him."

"Why are you so hung up on SuperCop? He's not even here. I can't believe he expected you to just wait around for him for eight weeks. That ain't right if you ask me. You deserve to live your life, not sit around waiting on something that qualifies as a bad habit," Lula said.

"I'm not hung up on Morelli, Lula. You know where I stand with that relationship. He thinks I'm here waiting for him, being faithful to him. I don't like cheating on Joe. And Ranger deserves more than to be the man I'm cheating with. I can't give myself fully to anybody until I've dealt with my relationship with Joe, and Ranger can't or won't give himself fully to me at all. So I refuse to delude myself that something more than friendship and sexual tension exists between us."

"Right," she said, rolling her eyes.


	3. Chapter Two

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Two**

Mom and Grandma Mazur were waiting at the door when we arrived. They were eying me curiously as I walked up the path with Ranger and Lula. My mother's curious expression turned to scrutiny when Ranger placed his hand on my lower back to guide me up the steps on the porch. She'd never seen Ranger in a suit before. She'd only seen him as Ranger the bounty hunter with black painted on SWAT clothes.

Grandma Mazur had a wild excited look in her eyes. She loved Ranger. I looked at him for a moment. I could understand why. She loved the package in his pants, but I loved the entire package, inside and out.

"Well Stephanie what is this all about?" my mother asked, while looking me over. After the full body examination, she seemed relieved for some reason. I didn't know what that was all about. Then her eyes sharpened again. "What is that on your cheek?"

"It's nothing, mom. I'll explain it all in a moment."

"Does it have something to do with your bounty hunter friend with the nice package?" my grandma asked me.

I felt Ranger's hand stiffen on my back. I was past the point where embarrassment was even an option. Besides I got a kick out of grandma. She was the only woman I knew that could strike fear into any man, except my dad. The only thing my dad feared was facing murder charges if he killed her in her sleep.

"Is everybody here?" I asked, stalling for a few more minutes.

"Your father, Albert, Valerie, Sally, Mary Lou, your grandmother, and I are here. Is that everybody?"

"No we need to wait for Eddie."

Just as I finished saying his name I heard a door shut behind me. Eddie walked in right behind us wearing a curious expression. Eddie is a Trenton cop, one of my oldest and dearest friends, and he's married to my cousin, Shirley the whiner. I didn't hold that against him, though.

That was everybody so that meant it was time to start the explanation. We followed my mother into the dinning room where everybody was talking quietly trying to figure out what was going on. Mary Lou noticed me first and jumped up.

"Oh my God, Steph. You look great. Wow you really look amazing, except for that bruise on your cheek. By your appearance, though, I'm guessing you're not pregnant," she said, talking at the speed of light.

"Jesus is that what you all thought?" I asked, my eyebrows disappearing into my hairline.

I rolled my eyes at the several sheepish looks I got. My dad seemed to be the only person in the room not buying into the pregnancy rumor. Of course it was difficult to gage what my dad was thinking. There was a plate of cookies sitting in front of him, so they had all his attention.

"Okay get comfortable. I have a lot to say and not a lot of time to say it in. Don't interrupt for any reason. If you find yourself wanting to interrupt me stuff something in your mouth instead and wait until I'm finished."

I took a few deep breaths before starting. Everybody was seated around the table, but me. I chose to stand that way if I felt the need to pace a little, I could. Oh boy it was easier talking to a room full of ex-military muscle men than this bunch. My family didn't do emotions; we did food. We said sorry and showed love with food. This was going to get very uncomfortable. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to ask Ranger to come. Maybe I should just talk to him in private. I looked at him swallowing hard.

"Babe, it's okay. Say what you have to say," he said, talking softly. I smiled at him. He really is the best person I know, and he didn't even know it.

"Eight weeks ago Joe accepted an out of town assignment, and that day I realized I needed to make some changes in my life. Personal and professional changes. I sat down and sincerely thought about what I wanted in life and what it would take to get what I wanted. I know being a bounty hunter is dangerous and that I scare the hell out of most of you with everything that seems to happen to me. I scare the hell out of myself as well. I haven't been very smart when it comes to my job. Most of the stuff that happens to me isn't entirely my fault, but I am at fault for not being smart. I jump before I think. I always have, and the not thinking is what lands me in all my trouble. Ninety percent of the time I know I shouldn't do something but my curiosity takes over and I do it anyway. If it's not my curiosity that leads my stupidity it's the fact that my mouth has a tendency to not be connected to my brain."

I let out a breath and took a second to calm myself. I needed to slow down. I was talking too fast.

I looked around at my family. "I'm sorry I've worried all of you, and I'm even sorrier that my stupidity has endangered anyone here. None of you asked to be put in danger. You never asked for my life to be your life. I want you to know that I will do whatever it takes to make sure you are safe from now on. I can't promise that nobody will use any of you to get to me, but I do promise to protect you all with my life," I said, as I looked around the room, stopping at my mom, looking in her eyes. She was the one that needed to hear about my decisions more than anybody.

"Mom, I know you're always trying to get me into a different job because you love me and you want me to be safe, secure, and normal. What you need to understand is I'm not and will never be what the Burg classifies as normal. I don't want to be a housewife, I don't want to work in any type of factory, I don't want to wear pantyhose, and I don't want to go to work in the same building at the same time everyday. Answer me a question, what was Val's favorite ride in an amusement park when we were kids?" I asked.

"The Carousel," my mother said.

"What was mine?"

She smiled. "The roller coaster."

"I want the roller coaster, Mom. Being a bounty hunter is a lot like being trapped on a roller coaster. A really good one with lots of twists and turns and huge drops, the kind that makes your stomach turn over." I closed my eyes remembering the feel of riding the roller coaster. When I opened my eyes again, my family was all very quite. I'd never seen them so attentive, so quiet.

"It took me awhile to figure out I was trying to ride the roller coaster all by myself because I thought I had something to prove. I only asked for help when I was in way over my head. I know now that there is nothing wrong with needing help. I was so insecure with myself that I was taking unnecessary risks. I was fighting an inner battle of trying to please everybody around me and myself at the same time. I can't live like that, and I certainly can't work like that. I have to make myself happy, and I have to stop worrying about how everybody else views my life. I don't want the Burg life. I never have, but I was raised in the Burg so somewhere in my mind I thought I needed to make the Burg way my way. There's nothing wrong with the Burg life," I said to my mom trying to soften the blow, "but it's wrong for me.

"Once I realized what I didn't want, it was so much easier to figure out what I did want. I know I want the thrill of the chase, but I knew if I was going to continue being a bounty hunter some things needed to change. I needed the partner I could trust who knew the ride, and I needed to know how to handle the ride on my own at times. My partner and I have spent the last eight weeks learning how to handle the ride. I'm not going to go into all the training we've been doing because it's not important for this discussion. What is important is that you all know I'm no longer going to be taking unnecessary risks. My safety and my partner's safety are a top priority. If you haven't noticed the last eight weeks have been very quiet. No explosions, no psychos, and no embarrassing take-downs. I'm sure the Trenton Police Department betting pool is huge, and the officers are sitting on pins and needles waiting for the next big payout. I'm hoping that's not going to happen." I looked at Eddie and smiled.

"My personal decisions weren't quite so easy." I looked at my hands for a minute. This was the hard part. Mom was going to freak. I could hear it now. So and so's daughter doesn't blah blah, and why me. I looked back up and around the room. "Some were quite obvious and easy to come by, but others weren't. I don't have it completely figured out, but I have an outline. I've always lived life by the seat of my pants, so an outline is as good as it gets. The Burg standard was one thing I know I don't want."

I scanned the room and stopped at my mom. "Mom, I know you're going to cross yourself until your arms hurt, iron everything in the house, and probably drink yourself into oblivion when I say this, but I can't pretend or try to force myself into a life I don't want anymore, so here goes. I don't want to get married anytime in the near future or maybe not at all. Rings, proposals, and exchanging vows in front of the entire Burg, scares the hell out of me. That doesn't mean I want to live my life alone. It just means marriage isn't my ultimate goal. I want to be with somebody that loves and accepts me for me, and that doesn't want to change me into a housewife or clip my wings. I don't think I need to get married to find and keep that kind of love. Marriage isn't what makes two people committed to each other. I learned that the hard way. This means, Mom, at some point in my life I'm most likely going to live with a man and not be married to him. I'm warning you now so you have time to adjust to the idea. Also children aren't in the foreseeable future either. I can't say I'll never want children, but I can say I don't want them any time soon. I want to live my life for me for a while. Besides I think the idea of having children scares me more than marriage. However, if I do find myself pregnant at some point in my life it does not mean I will be rushing down the aisle. I'm telling you now I will never, ever get married simply because I'm pregnant. As for everything else in my life I'll figure it out over time. I'm living my life from day to day from now on.

"Now that I'm finished saying all that, I need some help today. I'm moving and I've changed my phone numbers. This is where I'm going to ask that you ignore the Burg standards of never keeping things to yourself. I have to know that every person in this room will never, and I mean never tell anybody where I live or my phone number. Very few people will know my address or my home number. My cell will be a different situation because I use it for work, but I changed it so I can start fresh. I've lived in an apartment that has turned me into a sitting duck waiting for a serial killer to come get me. I want to be safe at home so moving is the only way I can do that. You might be a little surprised to find out where I'm moving to, but don't freak out on me. The new apartment I'm moving into is secure, very secure. RangeMan, Ranger's company, provides the security for the apartment complex. I don't care if you tell people I moved, they're going to figure that out on their own, but that's where the conversation ends. I don't care who it is, if they don't know my phone number, or where I live, do not tell them. Inform them I will contact them. Can I trust you all to keep this information a secret?" Everybody nodded yes, so I reached into my bag and got out six envelopes that held a piece of paper with my information written on it. I handed them out to the appropriate people and waited. My mom was the first to gasp in surprise like I knew she would. I didn't get it. I was only ten miles away max.

"Ewing. You're moving to Ewing. Stephanie honestly couldn't you find a good secure apartment closer. Say like in Trenton," my mother asked me.

"Ten miles. I'll be ten miles away. Only eight more than I am currently. It's a suburb of Trenton. I really don't see the big deal. Anyway I need to meet a few of the guys from RangeMan at my storage unit at 2:00, so if any of you have any questions, comments, or concerns speak now," I said, looking around.

"I'm proud of you sweetheart," my dad said.

"Thanks daddy." I bit my bottom lip to keep from getting emotional. Ranger was the only person that ever told me he was proud of me. It felt good to have somebody else proud of me.

"Did Ranger train you? If so how up close and personal did you get with his fine package?" my grandma asked. I saw the corners of Ranger's lips twitch upward.

"No, Grandma, Ranger didn't train me. He found out everything today just like you."

"I want to find out all about your training, but I have a hair appointment today at 1:30, so we'll have to get together sometime and have a talk," she said. I smiled. That talk should be quite interesting.

Mary Lou was looking at me with a knowing smile. "It's about time Steph. I've been watching you teeter on the edge for a while now. You are much larger than the Burg. You need room to move," she told me. The tears welled up in my eyes. I took a few deep breaths to keep them from falling down my cheeks. I hate crying and I refused to cry today even if it was happy tears. Mare always knew what to say to get to me. I smiled at her because I didn't trust my voice.

"Uh Steph who the fuck is your partner?" Sally so eloquently asked.

"I am," Lula said, which directed everybody's eyes to her.

"Holy fuckin' shit girl. You are like a stick. I guess your ass has been training hard," Sally commented. Lula smiled and I rolled my eyes.

"Steph, you mind if I keep this new information about you training to myself? I think the boys down at the station should sit and wonder for a while. They can't figure out how you haven't had any problems lately. I have the inside track now and I don't plan on sharing. I'm really proud of you. I knew you were capable of being amazing at your job if you got out of your own way," Eddie said, causing me to smile. He was right I'd spent so much time and effort in my own way.

"Your life is scary but exciting, Steph. I wish I could handle half of what you've been capable of handling. I'm too wimpy. Sometimes I wonder which one of us is really the older sister. I'm proud of you for standing on your own two feet and blazing your own path," Val said.

I was going to cry. I wasn't expecting this. Mom hadn't said anything, yet. Everybody was looking at her waiting. She was wringing her hands together, which normally wouldn't be a good sign.

"Mom?"

She locked eyes with me and smiled slightly. "Just so I understand everything correctly. What you're saying is that you are staying a bounty hunter, you have a partner now, you have been training to be better at being a bounty hunter, you're moving to Ewing into a building secured by your friend Ranger, you don't want to get married, or have babies. Is that all correct?" she asked. I raised my eyebrow at her. She knew it was all correct and wasn't really looking for an answer. "So I'm I correct in assuming you are no longer with Joe?"

Everybody looked at me including Ranger. He raised his eyebrow at me in question.

"Well the thing is Joe isn't here right now, so technically I'm still with him. We do need to talk when he gets home, though. Like I said I'm living for me now. If he can't accept what I want then no we won't be together. I'm not going to get into my relationship with Joe. I don't have the time, but after Joe and I talk, you and I need to talk, Mom. You need to understand some stuff about our relationship," I said, keeping my eyes on my mother.

"That's fine, dear. I've known for a long time that you aren't Burg material. I've just always hoped that one day you might want to get married and have babies. I can see now that your life is full enough, and it's filled with what you want. I'm sorry if I've given you the impression that I'm not proud of the woman you've become because I am. Your very strong Stephanie and you are a very good person," she told me.

"Thank you, Mom. You don't know how much that means to me. I've got to get going, though. Some of Ranger's men are meeting me at my storage unit, and Ranger needs to get to an appointment," I said, moving toward the door.

"Wait," my mom said. She looked Ranger in the eyes and placed a hand on his forearm. He looked at her curiously. "Thank you," she said.

"For?"

"For your unconditional support, love, and friendship for my daughter. You truly are a wonderful man, and I'm forever grateful to you for all you have done for her. Please thank all your men for me as well. If there is anything I can ever do for you just let me know," she said.

That was my undoing. The tears were coming out unchecked and there was nothing I could do to stop them. Who was this woman? I shouldn't complain, but wow.

Ranger looked at me, with my mouth hanging open and tears streaming down my cheeks and gave me his almost smile before directing his attention back to my mom. "I care a great deal for Stephanie. My loyalty to her is unconditional, and I've never trusted another woman, as much as I trust her. I will always be there for her in anyway that she needs me. I'll do whatever is within my power to make sure she is safe and happy. The cars and money aren't important to me, she is. If at the end of the day she's safe and has a smile on her face then that's all that matters."

What? Oh My God! What did that mean?

"Well aren't you the one," my grandma said.

"Now I'm all red and blotchy. Thanks a lot," I said to Ranger smiling while I moped up my face.

"Anytime, Babe," he said back with his 200-watt smile.

My dad stood up and extended his hand to Ranger. "I don't believe we've ever been properly introduced. Frank Plum," my dad said.

"Carlos Manoso," Ranger said while returning my dad's handshake.

"Would you prefer us to refer to as Ranger or Carlos?" my dad asked.

"Either is fine with me."

"You're welcome in my home anytime, Carlos. Come by for dinner with Steph sometime."

"Absolutely and thank you Sir."

"Frank." Ranger nodded with a smile.

"Okay now I really need to go. I'm going to be late. If any of you want to come and help with my moving process I would appreciate it," I said, and told them all the address of the storage unit and led Lula and Ranger out the door.

Dad and mom said they would help and even stay for dinner when I offered. Sally also said he was available until band practice at four o'clock.

I walked to my car with a fuzzy head. That went better than I expected. The thing with Ranger and dad was weird. It really had my head the fuzziest. But, I couldn't stop the smile when I felt Ranger's hand take mine. I got butterflies in my stomach, and I was getting quite warm. How could this man affect me so much? Has it always been this way between us or was this something new? My God had I been so completely blinded by our sexual desire for each other that I'd ignored my actual feelings for him? Had I denied myself this great feeling I was having right now?

We were at my car and I was still lost in my thoughts. A gentle 'Babe' in my ear brought me back to reality.

"That felt like I was sixteen again and I was going out on my first date." Ranger chuckled.

I looked up at him and we locked eyes. He said some pretty important things inside and now I was really confused. If I thought I was confused coming to my parents' house it was minimal compared to now.

"Ranger, I…" I didn't know what to say.

"We'll talk later, Babe. I'll call you when my meetings over." He kissed me on the forehead and walked to his car.

I got in the car and Lula gave me a weird look. "You sure about that friendship and sexual tension thing? I think maybe you otta rethink your relationship with Batman," she said, looking out the front window. "I watched his face through all your confessions and he was shocked. I could tell. He was shocked at the office too. You really did a number on him today, especially since I've never seen the man show an emotion." She smiled again and chuckled to herself. "Then he went and pulled out all the stops with his own confession. Unconditional loyalty and trust above any other woman. Dammmmn if it wasn't obvious before that he's in love with you, it certainly is now," she said, chuckling.

I put the car in drive and left for New York Bagel Shop & Deli to pick up snacks and beverages before meeting everybody at the storage unit. I didn't know what to say to Lula, so I didn't say anything. I didn't honestly have the foggiest clue what Ranger and my relationship was based on. I knew I was in love with him, but I really didn't know how he felt. His confession was a real eye opener and I hoped to hell he meant it. I couldn't see Ranger just spouting off for my mother's benefit. He didn't do that sort of thing. He planned everything and he didn't say something unless he meant it.

I pulled up to the storage unit after leaving the deli and introduced everybody. The men loaded up the truck, while Mom, Lula, and I loaded boxes into all the vehicles. After everything was loaded, we drove to the apartment.

We gathered outside the complex and decided the best approach. I lived in number 90, so it meant I was in a corner unit on the third floor. It was going to be a long process getting everything up to the third floor. We decided to fill one of the elevators up with as much as possible to limit the number of trips up and down. Mom held the elevator as we loaded it up. We left just enough room for her to breath and sent her up. The rest of us took the other elevator. I gave a quick tour while Lula held the elevator and the guys started filling my new apartment.

The apartment was even better than I remembered. It was very spacious and updated. No more seventies bathroom. This place had plush carpet, tile, and cherry wood throughout. When entering the apartment there was a long hall leading to all the rooms. On the left side was an entry closet, followed by a large dinning room, then the kitchen. The kitchen had entrances from the hall and from the dinning room, and like all the bathrooms, was in a deep green and ivory. On the right side was a half bath, followed by a walk-in-closet, and then the bedroom. The living room was at the end of the hall and a covered balcony was off it. The bedroom was big and at the end of the wall on the right was a door leading into the closets and bathroom. Through the door was a short hall with the bathroom on the end, two closets on the left, and a walk-in-closet on the right.

While the guys worked on the elevator Lula, mom, and I worked on the boxes in the vehicles. We stacked the boxes against the wall next to my apartment door so they were out of the way from the guys.

Junior and Cal left right after we got their SUV unloaded. I thanked them and my mother made sure they were loaded down with some fruit and sweets as well as a large selection of beverages. Ranger called fifteen minutes after they left and said he would be over shortly after 4:00. Sally left at 4:00 with his to-go bag thanks to mom, and we all took a break. The elevator was unloaded and the boxes lined the hall wall.

That was how Ranger, Tank, Lester, and Bobby found us. I just took a bite of my first cookie when they walked around the corner into the kitchen. Ranger smiled his 200-watt smile at me. He was back into work mode; black cargos, painted-on black long sleeved shirt, and black boots. Yummy! I smiled and finished my cookie.

"Good to see not everything has changed, Babe. I would die of shock if I walked in and found you eating veggies." Ranger grinned at my eye roll, and the guys left to finish unloading the U-haul truck.

"Carlos is quite the looker, Stephanie," mom said, grinning as she unpacked the boxes we moved into the kitchen.

"Uh huh."

"So tell me about him?"

"Nothing to tell, really. He owns RangeMan, which is a securities company, and he's a bounty hunter when he has time," I said while opening another box.

"I already know that. You have to know more about him than that Steph. No man would say he trusts you as much as he does and not share information about himself. I want to know about the man that stole my baby's heart." I whipped around and stared at her in shock. Lula's eyes bounced between the two of us while balancing a stack of plates she took out of a box.

"What on earth are you talking about?" I said, eyebrows raised, threatening to hide in my hairline.

"I'm not stupid or blind, Stephanie. Now how old is he?" she asked while opening a box of glasses.

"Two months older than Steph," Ranger answered from behind me. I whipped around and looked at him with a pained expression. "Where do you want the safe, Babe?" He was grinning. I shot a look at my mother and led Ranger into my bedroom to show him which closet to put the safe in.

"You guys need any help?" He laughed. Of course he would laugh. He understood the pained expression.

"It can't be that bad," he said while wrapping me up in his arms.

"Oh yes it can, Manoso. She's going to drill me for every last detail I know about you. Be thankful my grandma's not here. She would be asking for full description of your naked body, which would just lead to more questions about us and how I know what your naked body looks like." He laughed. More laughing. Since when had Ranger had such a funny bone? And why does everybody think my life was so funny? "Fine, you think this is funny. Have it your way. We'll see who's laughing. You're going to regret everything you've ever told me," I said, with a glare.

He looked at me, a soft smile playing on his lips. "I would never regret sharing anything with you. Tell your mom whatever you are comfortable with her knowing. I trust you. You'll know where to draw the line." He brushed a soft kiss across my lips before walking me out of the bedroom and depositing me back into the kitchen with the vultures.

Vultures might be too polite. They jumped me the moment I reentered the room. By the time we finished the kitchen and both bathrooms. They knew where Ranger was born, about moving to Miami, his college life, joining the Army, his marriage and divorce, how we met, him rescuing me from my shower rod, the first job I did with him and the Merry Men, and our first kiss after the stolen BMW. By that time I needed to order dinner and I was feeling like I was headed into territory I didn't want them knowing too much about. So I made my escape and called in an order to Parkway Pizza, which was like Pino's. I ordered quite a bit, knowing the guys would be hungry since I was starving.

After dinner, my mom and Lula cleaned up while I helped the guys situate all the furniture. My dad, Hal, and Tank were in the living room arranging furniture, and Ranger, Bobby, and Lester were in my bedroom assembling furniture. I left the living room and leaned against the door-frame in my bedroom to watch the guys put my bed together. They were laughing. I'd never been around them when they weren't working. They were always so serious. Ranger looked so at ease. I wondered if he was always like this when he was with the guys in a non-work related atmosphere. I noticed when he was living with me, he showed a little bit of the playfulness, but it was such an emotional time I didn't think he had it in him to completely relax. He looked relaxed right now. Just Ranger and the guys goofing off.

"Ah SHIT! HAL!" I spun around startled by Tank's booming voice. I had my hand on the doorknob and jerked it closed on my way out by accident and caught my heel on the underside of the door.

"AHHHH, SHIIIIIIT!" I said through clenched teeth as I jumped around holding my foot and letting out a string of cursing that could make a sailor blush.

I finally made it to the sectional still holding my foot. I was too afraid to look at what my heel looked like, but I knew it was bad. I opened my eyes and looked into the sparkling eyes of five ex-military men. They were all laughing. I'm so glad my pain was hysterical to them.

"I haven't heard cursing like that since my days in the Army," my dad said from somewhere behind me.

Ranger kneeled down in front of me, chuckling. "What happened Babe?"

"Fuck you," I growled at him.

He laughed again. "Such a mouth on you. Now are you going to tell me what happened?"

"Fucking Tank. What's wrong with you? Why the fuck are you yelling like a little girl? You scared the shit out of me. Now because of you and your god damn yelling, half my heel is missing," I said, through my clenched teeth. Tank let out a booming laugh. Guess nobody felt sorry for me.

Ranger was still smiling and if he didn't stop, I was going to kick him in the mouth. He gently took my foot and pried my hand off my heel. The smile instantly disappeared off his face. That bad huh?

"Shit. How the hell did you do this? You got a first aid kit?" he asked. I nodded just as I saw my mom running to the half bath where she knew there was a first aid kit. I looked down and grimaced.

"How did this happen?" he asked, while he carefully removed my sock.

"When Tank yelled it startled me, and I jerked the door closed while I moved out of the room. I guess I wasn't all the way out of the way and caught my heel on the bottom of the door." I looked at my heel again. A good chunk was missing. It wasn't bleeding too badly, but it sure hurt like hell. Ranger cleaned it up quickly and put a Band-Aid on it. I was given a few Ibuprofen and an ice pack with orders not to move for at least twenty minutes.

My parents left right after all the excitement died down and the guys went back to getting the furniture set up. I sat on the couch with an ice pack on my heel and with Lula as my company. After the twenty minutes was up the guys were all finished and my apartment was complete.

"Shit. All my clothes are still at my other apartment. I forgot to grab them this morning. It was that damn phone call to you; it got me all distracted," I said. Ranger grinned. He's such an ass, a sexy ass, but still an ass.

"I'll take you to get whatever you need. I wouldn't want you walking around naked," he said, chuckling. Oh ha, ha, ha. Very fucking funny!

We all left the apartment together and I thanked the guys for their help. Lula climbed in with Tank and I climbed in with Ranger. He was driving the truck. I loved this truck. The ride was silent, but I was use to that. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence; it was nice.

When we got to my old apartment he walked around the front of the truck and helped me out. Damn my heel hurt. He took my hand and we walked into the building. I looked at the stairs, and then I looked at the elevator. I used the stairs all the time now. I couldn't remember the last time I rode in the elevator. Could I make it up the stairs without hurting my heel too much? I guess I took too long deciding because Ranger pulled me into the elevator. When we got to my door I already had my keys out and ready. I let go of Ranger's hand and grabbed my 9mm from my back holster. He raised a brow at me.

"Habit," I told him as I toed open my door. He followed me in with his gun drawn as well. We worked together seamlessly. No bad guys, so we grabbed my clothes and Rex and left. The ride back was equally quite. We took everything up in one load and straight into my bedroom. Ranger lounged on my chaises while I worked on putting my clothes and shoes away. I came out of the closet and smiled at him. He looked mighty comfortable.

"How's the heel?" he asked, smiling.

"Hurts like hell." I looked around my new bedroom. I couldn't believe this was all mine. I couldn't believe I went from living like a college student in a dorm room to all this. Amazing what money could do.

"It suits you, Babe. Let's go out to the living room. I want you to ice your heel a little longer," he said, while getting up and following me out the bedroom door.

We settled on the sectional together, me in the corner of the two sections, and Ranger at one of the ends. He took my foot and placed in his lap on top of the ice pack. Situating it so my injury was covered. He looked at me, and I knew by the look on his face that we were about to have a serious conversation. He didn't say anything for a while. He just watched me watch him while he gently massaged my foot resting in his lap.

"What started all this?" he asked.

"I told you already, it all started when Joe accepted the out of town assignment," I said.

"That's it? He's worked out of town before. Why was it different this time?"

"He hasn't worked out of town in a long time and definitely not since we've become more. And it forced me into some thinking. I think that because it was close in time frame with everything that happened with Scrog, I was still a little vulnerable. I don't think I would be here right now if he didn't take that job. I would still be trudging through life hating it. I think I can look back now after everything I've done in the last eight weeks, and know I wasn't living for me and that I was never truly happy with my life," I said feeling quite pathetic, but at least I was being honest with myself and Ranger.

I laid my face against the back couch cushion and studied Ranger's hands on my foot. I felt the callus on his trigger finger pass over the arch of my foot. The massage was firm, but surprisingly gentle. I watched the muscles in his forearm flexing as his hand worked on my foot. My eyes continued their path up his arm to his bicep, shoulder, neck, jaw, lips, nose, cheeks, and finally his eyes. His eyes were watching me.

"It wasn't pity I took on you the day we met. I've never pitied you. I offered to help you because I saw something in you. You had raw determination. I wasn't sure how it was going to work out, but every time I saw you there was a little more fire. You surprised me. Like you said you had zero knowledge and zero experience with the job, but you still did it. You were never incompetent, different, but not incompetent. Your methods were certainly unusual, but effective. You always got your man or woman in the end," he said and lifted his eyebrow at my snort.

"Right, in the end, after I rolled in garbage, ruined most of my clothes, lost a few pairs of cuffs, caught things on fire, exploded the rest, was out ran by people twice my age, shot, shot at, held at gun point, kidnapped, and stalked. But hell I got them in the end so that's all that matters right?" I said rolling, my eyes.

"I wasn't aware you felt like this. Why didn't you ever say anything?" I looked at my hands. I need a manicure. I looked at my foot Ranger was massaging and a pedicure too. "Babe?"

I looked up at him. "I don't know why I didn't say anything. I guess because I was trying to be so independent."

"I didn't know you remembered me saying there was no cost for what we give each other," he said. How could I forget? "When I said there was no cost for what we give each other, not financially and not emotionally there wasn't an emotional attachment for either of us. We were attracted to each other, but our hearts weren't invested."

He was right. We cared about each other, but only as friends. That night was about satisfying a sexual attraction. I wasn't in love and he wasn't in love. He never lied to me, nor did he deceive me. I knew before we ever slept together that his lifestyle didn't lend itself to relationships.

"That's not the case now," he continued, drawing my attention back to him. "Like you said a lot has change between us since then. We've grown a lot closer. There may have always been trust between us, but it's much stronger now, and I'm far from emotionally unattached to you."

"It changes the cost a little doesn't it," I said, locking eyes with him.

He nodded. "You said it right. Freely given and freely received. There will never be a cost for what we give each other financially. But I can't say the same thing for emotionally." I smiled and nodded. We were emotionally attached now; we loved each other. There may not have been love between us the night we slept together, but that night started the love we had now. And with love there was always a cost, it would be our hearts and possibly our friendship.

We sat quietly enjoying each others presence. Personally I was lost in all my thoughts, and I had a strong feeling Ranger was equally lost. There was so much we still needed to talk about, but we'd deal with it one day at a time. That was my new philosophy, day-to-day living. I closed my eyes feeling Ranger massaging my foot and calf.

"What are you doing?" I asked, coming awake when Ranger picked me up.

"Taking you to bed. You've had a long day." He sat me on my bed and kneeled down to take my other sock off. He walked over to my dresser where he saw me put my pajamas and pulled out a t-shirt and boxer shorts. "Do you need help or can you manage?" he asked, smiling at me as he handed me the clothes.

I bit my bottom lip and looked at his smiling mouth. God I wanted him. I wanted him bad, but I couldn't do it. We needed to figure some more stuff out and do a lot more talking before anything physical could happen between us again. I also owed my relationship with Joe a fair chance. "I can manage thanks. Are you running with us in the morning?" I asked as I went into the bathroom to change.

I left the doors open so I could hear him talking. I quickly changed into my nightwear and stuck my head out the door to tell him I was changed. I put my hair up in a ponytail and grabbed my face wash. He was leaning against the door frame arms crossed over his chest when I finished drying my face.

"What time do you run?" he asked, as I let my hair out and grabbed a comb to tame the mop before going to bed.

"I'll leave here at quarter to seven," I told him while combing my hair.

"You two afraid of running in the dark?" he asked, chuckling. I rolled my eyes and set the comb down.

"We sleep in an extra hour on the weekends since we don't have defense training," I said, while preparing to brush my teeth.

"Do you want me to pick you up?" I nodded at him as I finished brushing by teeth. He stepped forward and brushed a curl behind my ear before kissing my lips softly. "I'll see you in the morning, Babe. I'll lock up on my way out. Sweet dreams," he said and left.


	4. Chapters Three

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Three**

I woke up just before my alarm rang, reached over and turned it off, and then slowly stretched my body. It was a rare occurrence for me to wake up before my alarm, and even stranger for me to be happy about getting up before my alarm. It was the sheets. It was like sleeping on soft fluffy clouds. I sprang out of bed already smiling. I loved my bed. I loved my bedroom. I loved my bathroom. I loved my apartment.

I walked into the bathroom, did my thing, and skipped back into my bedroom. I slipped out of my boxers and shirt and into yoga pants and a sports bra when I heard the front door open. Please let that be Ranger. I quickly grabbed my Glock 29 and hid behind my open bedroom door. I listened to somebody trying not to make any noise. It had to be Ranger, who else could be so quiet. The quiet person walked into my room, and I kicked the door shut after he passed. My gun was leveled with his head.

"I should shoot you just for scarring me you ass," I said, flicking the safety back on and lowered my gun.

"Glad to see you're more aware of your surroundings, Babe," Ranger said, laughing. I rolled my eyes as his eyes wandered down my body. "Are you running in that?"

I looked down at myself and smiled sheepishly. "I got distracted and haven't finished getting dressed," I said while walking over to my bed. I laid my 10mm down, picked up my shirt, slipped it over my head, and followed it with my pullover hoodie. My eyes connected with Ranger's once my hoodie was in place. Damn this man could fill out a pair of sweats. I roamed his body and ended on his eyes again. They were black.

"Babe," he groaned out.

Shoes! I needed shoes. I grabbed my socks and promptly turned and went through the door leading to my closets. I grabbed my sneakers and walked out quickly passing Ranger and headed to the living room.

"You're trouble you know that," Ranger said from behind me.

I turned my head around to look at him. He was leaned against my bedroom door-frame arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were still black, but I didn't dare explore his body to see what else was affected by my eye wandering.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. You are too much deliciousness wrapped up into one package. I am a woman after all, and I only have so much control. I'll try to keep my eye wandering to a minimum," I said, flashing him a dazzling smile and returned to putting on my shoes.

"Stephanie, what have told you about admitting your control level to me? How much control do you think I have? I'm only a man, not a superhero," he said.

I turned around and looked at him again. I guess I never thought about his control level. "Sorry. I'm just about ready. Give me a minute?"

He nodded, and I walked to the walk-in-closet in the entrance hall, grabbing my black equipment bag. I took it back to my bedroom and got my ankle band out. Once it was in place I tucked my Glock 29 in the band and headed into the kitchen. Ranger was watching me move about getting everything I needed. I grabbed a couple bottles of water and tucked them in my bag and out the door we went.

"Where am I going?" Ranger asked once we were in the car.

"Cadwalader Park. Park on North Lenape Avenue," I said. "Do you know where that is?" I asked as an after thought and got a nod.

"So what's the routine?" he asked while driving.

"We do a warm-up, we stretch, we run, we cool down, and we stretch," I explained.

"Good routine. What's the warm-up?" he asked.

"We slow jog for a few minutes. Just enough to get our blood pumping. Then we stop and stretch. We run an eight-minute mile. It's not extremely fast, but it's a good pace for both of us," I said.

"Eight minutes is good. You're not running a marathon. It's a good comfortable pace. I usually run between seven and eight depending on how I'm feeling."

We pulled up to the curb and got out of the car. Lula and Tank parked behind us just as Ranger walked around the front of the car to join me. They got out and joined us a moment later.

Lula was sporting bright ass yellow this morning. Damn she was colorful. I liked color, but Lula took it a step beyond my comfort level. I loved her anyway, and it suited her. She was assessing me, almost like she was looking for signs of Ranger loving me all night. If that was the case she wouldn't have to look cause it would be spelled out all over my face for the world to see. Once she figured out it hadn't happened she shook her head in disappointment. I rolled my eyes.

"Lu, Tank," I greeted them with a smile.

"Girl," Tank said in return. He got that from Lula. He shortened skinny ass white girl, and if I'm being honest I liked his version much better. "Lead the way. We'll fall in behind you two ladies," Tank said.

"You just want to watch our asses," Lula stated firmly earning her two grins.

I rolled my eyes and took off with Lula, stepping into pace beside me and the guys following right behind us. The running path was empty this morning. The only sounds were four sets of feet hitting dirt and breathing. It was peaceful and made the five miles go quick.

"This is a nice park," Ranger said, fifty-five minutes later when we were finishing our stretching. I nodded just as my phone rang.

"Stephanie Plum," I said, when I didn't recognize the number.

"Hey there, sweetie, I've got a surprise for you," the man said into my ear. I smiled recognizing Lester's voice instantly.

"Oh yeah, what kind of surprise would you have for me, Les?" I smiled even more when Ranger's eyebrows almost hit his hairline.

"I just happen to be at breakfast with Bobby and Hal, when one of your skips walked in. I'll tell you where we're at if you guess which one it is," he said with amusement.

"How do you even know it's my skip?"

"Easy! I looked at your files last night."

I laughed. Of course he did. "Les there are only two of the five skips we have out right now that I would even hurry over to where you are to get. I would kiss you if you told me the skip you're having breakfast with is Yingler."

"You bruise me. I would never have breakfast with this guy."

I smiled picturing him clutching his heart. "You just narrowed my choices down by two. Please tell me it's Yingler. That asshole has been evading us for over a week. We want him bad, Les," I said all joking aside.

"So what you're saying is that we are to keep this sick fuck here until you ladies arrive," Lester said.

"Yeah that's what I'm saying. Where are you?" I asked, waving Lula to step closer.

"Crystal Diner on US Highway 1. He just got here with two friends. The waitress hasn't even got to their table yet. He'll be here for a while. How far away are you?"

"Eleven minutes. I don't know the diner, Les. How many public entrances? How many windows? Will he see us pull up? Tell me about this place," I said, while putting the phone between Lula and me on loudspeaker.

"One entrance in the front. The parking lot is on the side. He's sitting in a corner booth with a view. You have to walk in front of his window to get to the door. You can either walk around the backside of the diner to avoid his window or park next door. This guy is huge, sweetie, and his friends aren't small potatoes either. We're here if you need help, just say the word," Lester said.

"Thanks for the offer, Les. We'll let you know after we get a feel for the situation. See you in a bit," I said, hanging up and replacing the phone on my hip.

Lula counted off once I was ready and my paper covered her rock. "I'll take lead," I said and looked up when I heard Tank laughing.

"Did you two just play paper rock scissors to decide who leads and who's back-up?" Ranger asked with a grin.

"Yeah," I said as we walked back to our cars with the guys chuckling behind us.

We were parked in the parking lot next to the diner ten minutes later. Lula and I leaned against Ranger's car and checked out the diner. We could see the window our skip was sitting next to, but couldn't see inside the window from our distance. Ranger and Tank were busy reading over the skip's information just in case they needed to help out.

"This guy is watching his surroundings closely, so when he hears the diner door open and never saw anybody walk past his window he's going to look," I said to Lula.

"Uh huh. We don't know if he knows us or not, but I'm sure we'll know as soon as he sees us walk in," Lula said, getting a nod from me.

She was right we didn't know if he knew who was after him, but I wasn't willing to guess. Not with this guy. Tony Yingler was a 6'6" 265 pound black man. Granted he was forty-one, but I didn't think that slowed him down any. Since he was arrested for employing minors for pornography, he wasn't known to be violent, but with his size it shouldn't be hard for him to over power either of us.

"I don't want to take this guy down inside. We need to get him outside and his boys out of the way," I said, still watching the dinner.

"I can handle his boys," Lula said, smiling. I had no doubt about that, but how was I going to get Yingler out that door.

"Distraction," we said at the same time.

"Okay this is what I want to do. You're going to have to carry everything Lula. I have my gun, so I'm good. You go in with the guys. I want him to see you, and I want him to know what you are. Take the file for Uterway in and ask a few of the waitresses if they've seen him. We want to make him uncomfortable enough to want to leave, but he won't want to get up and walk past you to get out. That's where I come in. I'm going to give him the out he's looking for," I explained, smiling. "Once all the waitresses have said no, take a seat away from the door and order something. I'm going to wait two minutes before coming in, so I can prep for my show." Lula nodded with a smile and walked back over to Tank's SUV to get herself ready.

We all walked to the corner of the diner together and I stayed behind while Lula and the guys went in. I looked at my watch and as a last minute thought I took off around the backside of the building. I jogged so I would appear flushed when he saw me. When I got to the front side of the building again, I took my phone off the waistband of my pants and loosened all the parts. I needed it to fall completely apart when I dropped it. I looked at my watch and noticed my time was up. Here we go.

I walked past the window going with my agitated look. I could feel eyes on me, but I kept my eyes forward. I entered the diner and immediately saw Lula, Tank, and Ranger talking to a waitress. I did a quick scan of the interior making it look as if I was hunting for a place to sit. I saw the guys at the table directly to my left nearest to the door. They didn't acknowledge me thankfully. They must have figured out what we were up to. There were thirteen innocents in the room that I would like to remain innocent. I was fast at assessing a room when I entered. That was one thing I picked up the fastest with my training.

There was a long counter in front of me with two waitresses working behind it and the kitchen appeared to be directly behind the ladies. There were two booths and three tables to my left and three booths and four tables to my right. My skip was in the farthest booth from me, in the corner. The table next to his booth was empty. Excellent!

I turned to my right and walked back to the table. As I got closer to the booth I grabbed for my phone. I let it fumble out of my hands, watching it fall to the ground, praying it would crumble into pieces. It hit the ground and bounced. I let out an exaggerated Oh My God as it landed again and broke apart sending pieces flying in every which direction. I smiled internally.

"Oh freaking great. What the hell! I can not believe that stupid piece of shit phone just completely broke," I said as I crawled around on my hands and knees gathering all my parts together.

I looked under my skip's table and saw a piece at the far side against the wall. Oh how lucky was that. I looked up at the men sitting in the booth and saw they were all looking at me with grins. I gave them a slight smile and bit my bottom lip. "It seems a piece of my phone is under your table. Would you gentlemen mind if I crawled under there and got it?"

"You go ahead and do that, beautiful," Yingler said to me. Uhg make my skin crawl. I couldn't believe this guy hired kids to film porn. I smiled again and crawled under the table. On my way back out I made sure my left breast rubbed Yingler's leg. He tensed instantly. Hehehe. Score to me. I popped back out from under the table and looked right at him.

"I'm sorry I think I touched your leg," I said, giving him an apologetic smile. His eyes flashed and he gave me an eager grin. Yeah, so not going to happen buster!

"Yes you did, beautiful. Don't be sorry, I certainly wasn't," he said, giving me a wink, and I tried not to cringe.

"Well, shit, it appears my phone is fucked for the moment. You wouldn't by chance know anything about cars would you?" I asked, while keeping my eyes locked with Yingler's. "I came in here to grab a cup of coffee and call my mechanic. My car just stopped running. I don't know what happened." His eyes left mine and found Lula, Ranger, and Tank. He was assessing his options. Good, you do that.

"I could look at your car while you use my cell to call your mechanic," he said, while getting up and offered me his hand.

I let him help me up, and uttered thanks. I shoved all my phone parts in my pocket and led him out. Just as we were getting to the door the waitress started shouting about them running out on their check. That's when I noticed his friends were following. Shit! He was going to freak. I tried to smooth things over, but it was too late. He grabbed my wrist and told Lula and the guys to stay where they were. Jesus, what the hell did he think holding my wrist was going to do? I looked at Ranger and Tank, locking eyes with Ranger. I gave him a slight head-shake to tell him to stay out of it. Lula got up very slowly and walked toward us. His friends came up on his side acting all big and bad.

Lula looked at his friends. "You two need to go have a seat and stay out of this." Her voice was calm, but left no room for an argument. But naturally their brains didn't match their body size and they didn't move. She stepped one step closer and her calm voice evaporated. "Your friend will be leaving for the police station momentarily. Unless you both want to be hog tied and join him, you need to sit your asses down."

When they still didn't move, she pulled her gun and aimed it at them. "Sit your asses down like I told you," she said, with more heat this time. "This is your last warning before the two gentlemen behind me drag your asses out in cuffs."

I smiled when those big bad men literally ran back to their booth and sat their asses down. She dealt with his boys. Now she will stay at my back and keep me safe while I deal with the supporter of kiddy porn.

"Look this," I said, pointing at his hand wrapped around my wrist, "isn't going to do you any good. What you need to do is let go of my wrist and surrender yourself to us. You're not getting away from us this time. Do us both a favor and give up."

His eyes widened when he realized I was with Lula. "You bitch. You were setting me up to follow you outside. I'm leaving and you're going to let me," Yingler said.

I shook my head no. So not going to happen. Not only was the guy a sick fuck but he was also worth $2,500 just for me.

"I'm going to explain it to you simply. My partner has her gun drawn. She doesn't draw her gun unless she's willing to use it, and I would really hate for you to leave here with any extra holes. Also I'm telling you now that you have three seconds to release my wrist. If by the time I reach three you haven't released me, I'll make you. I do feel I should warn you, though, if I have to make you, I will hurt you," I said, my voice calm and low.

He started laughing and my wrist started throbbing. He had a pretty tight hold on me, but he didn't have my hand in the hold, so he couldn't manipulate my joint. I looked around assessing how much room I had to move. There wasn't a lot of moving room, but enough for what I needed to do to get him to go down. Step one, relax Stephanie, I told myself. Instantly the pain in my wrist and arm decreased.

"Fuck you bitch," he said, narrowing his eyes at me.

Now why did I think this was going to be easy? "One," I said, leading him into a new round of laughter. I saw Lula move to get ready in case she needed to back me up. "Two. I'm warning you now, you will go down. Let's do it without injuries," I told him, shifting my body closer to him.

I got another fuck you and that pissed me off. I warned him right? Quickly, I slapped my free hand over Yingler's hand, keeping his hold on my wrist while I raised my arm, bending my elbow and rotated my trapped wrist in a downward clockwise motion until my palm pressed down on Yingler's lower forearm in a wrist-lock. I was just looking to get him to let go, but I'd go as far as I needed to if he was reluctant. And that meant breaking his wrist if I needed to. I dropped my knee two inches and felt him release my wrist as he yelped in pain. With my hand still over his, I grabbed his fingers and finished rotating his wrist and arm, until he spun away from me, hollering I let him go.

"Get down on your belly now," I said.

"Fuck you, Bitch. Let me go now, and I won't hurt you," he threatened.

I jerk up on his arm and pushed his fingers further toward his elbow. He hollered again and his torso dropped lower to the ground. He continued to fight me, though, refusing to drop his knees. I didn't want to stun him because he was too heavy for Lula and I to transport. Why couldn't he just lie down and be a good fugitive? I gave a sigh and thrust my knee into his thigh and stomped down into the back of his knee. He dropped to his knees, but not to his stomach.

"Stop being stupid and get down," I said, irritated.

He was spitting mad and his voice harsh and loud. "Fuck you cunt."

Oh no he didn't. I heard Lula hiss my thought out loud. I could deal with bitch, but nobody called me the 'C' word. I lifted my knee ramming it into his back and followed him down the rest of the way, leaving my knee deep in his back. He started to struggle again, so I lifted his arm a little higher and dug my knee in a little deeper.

"Move again, and I fucking break your arm." I'd done lost my patience. I removed my hand from his fingers, keeping his wrist rotated uncomfortably, and held my hand up behind me. Lula placed the cuffs in it. I cuffed his left wrist and brought it around his back to join the other one. Once he was cuffed I positioned my knee over the back of his neck, pushing his face into the ground.

"I'm going to lift my knee up off your neck, and you're going to stay down. When I tell you to get up you will. Then we're going to walk you out the door and take you to the police station. You're going to keep you fucking mouth shut, and you're going to do as you're told," I said, while slowly moving my knee and stood up never taking my eyes off him. Lula stepped up on the other side of Yingler and slipped her gun back in its holster. As one we reached down and each took an elbow. "Get up," I said, while we helped pull him to his feet. He yelped a little when he applied full pressure to his right leg.

"In all fairness she did warn you," Lula said with a smile.

"Can you walk?" I asked. He nodded without uttering a single noise.

I turned and looked at the diners employees. They were all staring wide-eyed. "I apologize for the disturbance. We'll get out of your way. Have a nice day."

We each held an elbow and Yingler limped as we left the diner. We put him in the back of Tank's SUV, seat belting him in and secured him with leg cuffs. I closed the back door and turned around meeting five smiling men. Then they all started clapping. If I could get any redder, I'd be shocked.

"Shit, Sweetie, I didn't realize how much fun I was going to have when I called you," Lester said, grinning. "You kicked the shit out of that guy."

I bit my lip, pleased with myself.

"I need to get everything out of my old apartment today. You guys want to help?" I asked, smiling and batting my eyelashes.

"After the show you just gave us, we'll do anything," Bobby said, grinning. "That was seriously impressive, Cutie."

"Should we take him to the hospital first? His knee and wrist can't be feeling very good right now. I don't think anything is dislocated, but I can't promise I didn't sprain his wrist," I said, looking back over my shoulder. The guys started chuckling.

Lester walked over to the SUV and opened the back door. "You want to go to the ER or are you good?" Lester asked Yingler. He said he was good so Lester shut the door.

"We missed our range time," Lula said just as Lester rejoined us.

I looked down at my watch. Yep we sure did it was nine-o-three. Oh well. We all loaded up and headed on our way. Lula and Tank took Yingler to the station and were dropping the body slip off to Connie, while the rest of us went to my old apartment.

We pulled into the parking lot, and Ranger turned and looked at me instead of getting out of the car. "Babe, you just took down a guy that was three times your weight and almost a foot taller than you without breaking a sweat. Saying I'm proud of you would be an understatement. You've been busy the last eight weeks."

I nodded unable to speak. The amount of encouragement Ranger and his men offered me was just overwhelming.

"Not only was that an incredibly impressive take-down, you two work well together. You devised a good plan, you put it into action, and it would have worked out had the waitress not mucked it up. It still ended beautifully. You kept your skip under control, so no innocent people got hurt, and you both made it through the take down without serious injury. How's your wrist."

"It's a little sore. I'll put some ice on it when I get a chance and keep up my range of motion so it doesn't get stiff. It'll be okay. Thanks for the words of encouragement. It means a lot to me," I told him.

He nodded while tucking a curl behind my ear, and we headed up to my old apartment with the guys in tow. I started cleaning the kitchen while the guys loaded up the truck. I moved onto the dinning and living room after finishing the kitchen, cleaning the walls and vacuuming before moving onto my bedroom. Once the walls were scrubbed and the floor was clean all I had left was the bathroom. The guys were gone taking all my old things to the church for me, and Lula left five minutes after arriving to go get us coffee and donuts. I walked into the bathroom and looked around. I hated this bathroom.

I was half way through with the room when I heard the door. Must be Lula.

"Steph? Hello?"

I ran out of the bathroom and collided with Joe just outside my bedroom. His arms grabbed me before I fell back on my ass. I looked up to see him looking down at me grinning. I smiled back. He hugged me to him. God I missed him.

"You're back," I said, with my face buried in his chest. I pulled out of the hug and looked him over. Yep still sexy as hell. I leaned up and captured his lips with mine. We just held onto each other and kissed for several minutes. There was nothing demanding about it, just a beautiful kiss. I pulled back first and looked in his eyes.

"You moved?" I nodded. "You changed your numbers?" I nodded again.

"Yesterday. A lot has changed in the last eight weeks."

"Apparently," he said. "I got worried when I couldn't reach you."

"Shit, I'm sorry about that. I guess I didn't think about you calling."

I thought about what I said a second too late. It didn't sound good when I admitted I wasn't thinking about hearing from him. And the look on his face said he felt the way I was thinking he'd feel.

I grabbed his hand and pulled him. "Come in the bathroom with me while I finish cleaning, and I'll tell you all about what I've been up to."

I picked my sponge back up and started scrubbing the sink. "So the day you left I made some major decisions in my life. Moving was one of them. I've been a victim for far too long because of where I live, so I'm fixing that."

"Cupcake, you were a victim in your own apartment because of your job not your address. You didn't have any problems with psychos before you tried your hand at bounty hunting," he said, grinning. "Maybe all you really needed to do was quit your job then your home would be safe again."

Okay so it was true that my job caused my home not to be safe, but I'd pissed off too many people in the last four years. They wouldn't just forget where I lived simply because I stopped chasing FTAs.

"Something tells me that wouldn't quite work, Joe. Besides I love my new apartment." I wasn't getting into a fight with him right when he got home. I knew he was fed up with me being a bounty hunter. Maybe he'd change his mind if he knew I'd been training the entire time he was gone.

Joe leaned against the wall and shoved his hands in his pockets. "What makes you think you aren't going to end up with the same problem with your new apartment? What are you going to do move every few years just to keep the psychos at bay? I think it would be easier to just change jobs. You have a new apartment so start fresh and get the new job, and I don't mean working for Ranger either."

"My new apartment has controlled access. Not very many people know where I live and it's staying that way. Every person that has my address and phone number has promised me they will never tell anybody. Ten people plus the RangeMan crew know. I've only told the people I know I can trust."

I dropped the sponge and sprayed cleaner on the mirror, just as I heard the front door close, so quietly I didn't think Joe noticed.

"Why does the RangeMan crew need to know where you live?" he asked, his voice barely disguising the heat in his words.

I turned and looked at him. What was his problem? I couldn't figure out if he really was completely jealous of Ranger or if the hatred he had stemmed from something else, something deeper than me.

"RangeMan handles the security at my apartment," I told him watching for his reaction. Cop face slid right into place quicker than shit. Damn what the hell.

"So Ranger has 24 hour access to you?" Joe spat, glaring daggers at me.

"He has the gate codes yes, and he also has the key to my apartment. So I guess you could say he has 24 hour access to me yeah, but something tells me he isn't going to base his day around that. Besides how did he not have 24 hour access to me here?" I asked him. I figured it was time we were honest with each other. He needed to understand Ranger was apart of my life.

"How the hell did he get a key to your apartment? Let me guess he said he needs to have it for security reasons."

"I gave it to him, and he doesn't need a key at all. If he wanted in he would just pick the lock. He had a key to this apartment, too. He's a part of my life, Joe. He's my friend. My best friend. I trust him completely. I always have, and I always will. Why are you making a big deal about Ranger? Why is it always about Ranger? I'm so tired of this argument. I don't want to argue about Ranger being in my life. I will not remove him. He's here to stay, so take it or leave it."

I blew out a breath, trying to regain composure. I didn't want to do this. The fighting was so old. I placed my hand on his arm, squeezing lightly. "I want to tell you about the last eight weeks. Do you want to know about it?"

"Sure, Cupcake, tell me. What have you been doing the last eight weeks? I'm dying to know how you can afford this new apartment that has controlled access, when you barely could afford rent for this place and food at the same time."

"I've been training. Lula signed on to partner duty, and we've been training together," I said, ignoring the money crack he tossed at me.

He cringed when I said Lula. That pissed me off. I'd take the jabs at myself, but Lula didn't do anything to him. She didn't deserve his criticism. But I wasn't going to fight with him. I'd be positive.

"You should see Lula, she looks amazing. We do the higher bond skips now, and we're working pretty much seven days a week just trying to keep up with the number of skips coming in on a daily basis. Ranger just got 100% clearance a few days ago, but he's busy running his company, so I don't think he'll want his skips back."

"Wait, you're doing Ranger's skips now? Jesus, Steph do you have a death wish or something?"

What? "Didn't you hear what I said?"

He threw his hands in the air and huffed. "Yeah you've been training. I'm glad you finally decided to do something about that, but eight weeks isn't shit, Steph. Ranger has years of training to chase after the high level skips. He's lethal if he needs to be. It doesn't matter what you've done, it's not enough. It'll take years of training before you could possibly catch a dangerous skip without getting your neck broken."

He shoved off the wall and started pacing. And that's saying something since my bathroom was tiny. "Jesus what are you trying to do to me? I was drinking antacids by the case when you were going after low level scum, but I'll have an ulcer within an hour with you chasing high bonds. You know how many calls I'm going to get now? I'm going to spend my days answering calls about you instead of focusing on my own work."

He stopped and rubbed his chest. "When I accepted this out-of-town job it was a huge career move. Your job, if that's what you want to call it, is getting in the way of my career. Now it will be even worse with you thinking you're good enough to go after the dangerous felons. I can't spend my day coming to your rescue, and if you think Lula can possibly provide you with sufficient back-up you've gone mental in the last eight weeks. She has even less experience than you do."

He leaned against the wall and pushed a hand through his hair. "Shit I didn't miss this. You know how nice it was to not have one call regarding my girlfriend and some crazy thing she's gotten herself involved in. The last eight weeks has been peaceful and that's saying a lot since I've been on assignment."

I let him go until he was burned out. Normally I would've jumped in every other sentence until we were in each others faces screaming and throwing our hands about. It was strange for me to just stand there and listen without reacting. It gave me time to gather my thoughts. To keep a running total in a way. By the time he was finished ranting, I was very clear headed and knew exactly what I needed to do.

"Yeah I didn't miss this, either," I said, my voice soft, quiet. "I guess that says it all. You need to know the decisions I've made regarding my life because they affect what's left of this relationship, and whatever relationship we may have in the future. I'm going to lay it all out for you. I'm continuing to be a bounty hunter. I'm continuing my training. I'm keeping Lula as my partner. I'm getting closer to the RangeMan guys, they're my friends, and that's not going to change. Ranger is an important part of my life, and that's not going to change, either. I don't want a Burg life in any way. Meaning I don't want to be a house wife, and I don't want to cart kids around. I'm living my life for me now. If you want to be a part of my life it means you accept me for me and you don't try to change me. In fact it means you don't want to change me. Compromise is something different. But the days of you demanding I give up things that are important to me while you reap all the benefits without losing anything important to you, are over. You also need to understand that my job is not something I will compromise on."

Joe didn't look happy, in fact he looked murderous. Tough shit. My life, my rules. I was no longer going to allow people to walk all over me.

"So let me get this straight. Basically if I want to continue a relationship with you, I need to accept that you are a bounty hunter, you're friends with a bunch a muscle head ex-cons, you're best friends with a guy who wants to fuck you, you don't want to marry me, and you don't want to have kids. Anything else, Cupcake? You may as well get it all out on the table since you've been so honest thus far."

Anger was dripping from every word spat from his mouth. I didn't want things to go this way. But I didn't know why I expected anything else. Why couldn't he love me for me? How could he even say he loved me when he wanted me to be somebody else? I wondered what he loved about me. Obviously it wasn't all of me.

"The day you left Joe was a really hard day for me. I didn't know where you were or if I was ever going to see you alive and unhurt again. I came home and cried myself to sleep. I spent the rest of the day in my bed feeling sorry for myself. How pathetic is that? After I had no more tears to cry I got my sorry ass out of bed and took a shower, and then I did some thinking. A lot of thinking. I came to a lot of conclusions and decided it was time I finally started living for me, and me alone. I'm not going to spend the rest of my life waiting for other people to make me happy. I have to be happy with myself before anybody else can even enter the arena. I've been so confused and sickened by my life for awhile now, and I realized that had to change. So I've changed it Joe. I'm not the same person you left eight weeks ago."

"I don't get it, Stephanie? How the hell did you change so much?"

I shrugged. He just didn't get it. Maybe he didn't want to. "I woke up, Joe. I realized my life was shit, and I didn't want that anymore. So I fixed it. I'm still fixing it, but I'm happy."

"Throwing everything we would've had, everything we could be, away makes you happy?"

"I'm not throwing anything away. Everything you're thinking about was what _you _wanted. What _you _saw for us. It wasn't my vision. It isn't my vision. We don't want the same things in life. We never have. I put on a good face and tried to please everybody around me, but it was never what I truly wanted."

"So what you're saying is everything's just been one giant lie?"

I squeezed my eyes shut, counted to ten, let out a gust of air, and looked back into the angry Italians eyes. I didn't know how to explain things to him. He was just going to twist everything into what he wanted to hear.

"It hasn't been a lie, Joe. When I said I loved you, I meant it. When I was with you, it's where I wanted to be. I wasn't playing with you. I just know now that we aren't heading down the same paths. One could argue that we've never been heading down the same paths, but I wasn't in any hurry to fix it. I was trudging along in life not really in a hurry to do anything to make my life better. But now I've started to make it better and I can't erase what's been done."

"Guess that means I'm getting erased than instead."

"NO! I don't want to remove you from my life. I'd never want that. Can't you see it's just this messed up relationship that's not going anywhere. You don't believe in me or in us. You don't really want me. I don't think you ever have. I think really you wanted somebody you thought I could be if I would let you change me. We've been going at this attempted relationship for years now, Joe. We don't have a healthy strong relationship. I know this and so do you. We can't be honest with each other without it biting us in the ass later, and we certainly don't bring out the best in each other."

He still looked fairly angry but the cop face lifted. He was showing emotions now, so an improvement was made. He let out a big sigh and rubbed his hands down his face. "I agree with most of that. That's sad, but I do. I hope you're not suggesting that I don't love you because I do." He rubbed his face again. "Let's continue being honest, and tell me if this change has anything to do with me taking this job. Does it have to do with me leaving suddenly and not being able to tell you anything?"

I thought about what he was asking me briefly and realized if Ranger was in my kitchen listening to everything, my answer could work for both of them. I figured most of Ranger's inability to be in a relationship with me had a lot to do with leaving suddenly and not being able to tell me anything.

I locked Joe with a look. "If you hadn't taken that job nothing would be different right now I'm sure. But that's because I wouldn't have been forced to really look at my life. To make a choice that I've been putting off for a long time."

He started to interrupt me, but I held a hand up. "Nothing would be different, but you not being able to tell me where you were going didn't effect my decisions one little bit. I don't need to know everything you do or even everything about you to love you. I don't even have to have you 100% of the time. What I do need, though we don't have. We're stuck in an on again off again relationship that has spiraled into an unhealthy pattern of behavior. We fight about everything but sex. We don't agree on anything but sex. You want me to be somebody I can't be so that you feel better during the day. We're secretive and have zero problems lying right to the others face, and we don't seem to be able to separate our working relationship from our personal relationship. You are a good man, and a great cop Joe, but I need more. You are 30% Joe Morelli and 70% Detective Morelli. I need more than you are willing to give me. Your 30% is your sexual beast. When you tell me you miss me, what you miss is me naked and you deep inside me. You don't miss the cuddling, the talking, the looks, the smiles, and the togetherness. You don't miss any of that because we don't have it. You were right Joe. There's a you and a me, and sometimes we're together but there's no us. We are fuck buddies with an exclusive title, whom happen to have fallen in love with each other, but are unwilling to seriously commit to the other. There's always something between us and we don't seem to be able to get past all the barriers. It's honestly not fair to either of us to keep going. We both deserve to be happy and have what we need and want in a relationship."

"You're right, Cupcake, we both deserve to get what we truly want out of a relationship. Did you plan to say all this when I got back or are you cluing me in that you've already moved on?" He wasn't smiling, but he didn't appear to be mad either.

"This isn't what I wanted. Not exactly anyway. I wanted you to come home and be proud of everything I've accomplished, to ask me about it and want to know about it. But I knew we wouldn't be able to continue our relationship the way it was," I told him honestly. I knew the day I made all the decisions in my life that it was over. As much as Joe claimed he didn't want the Burg life, he did. And he could never deal with possibly never getting married or having children. This talk was merely a formality, the official break up.

"So you never want to get married or have children?"

"I don't know if I ever want to get married again, but frankly having children scares the living hell out of me. I think I would rather get shot and spend a week in the hospital than deal with getting fat, labor, diapers, runny noses, sticky fingers, crying, noise on top of noise, and God knows what other excruciatingly painful experiences. I mean can you see me driving a minivan full of kids or attending the PTA meetings. I'm cleaning my bathroom with a 10mm tucked in at my ankle; not exactly family material."

"Since when do you carry a gun?" Joe asked in amazement.

"I started carrying it or some gun eight weeks ago. I always have at least one gun on me at all times."

He nodded and grimaced slightly. "Please tell me this isn't all about Ranger."

"Ranger didn't even know. In fact he just found out about everything yesterday."

"That's not what I asked. He didn't have to know about it, Cupcake. Were you doing all this to impress him, for him?"

I shook my head no before he could even get himself riled up. "I'm doing this for _ME._"

"I have to be honest with you, Steph, because you've been honest with me. Want to know what always came between us? Ranger has been between us for a long time, and his presence has gotten worse over the last year."

"Joe, it's not his fault. You can't blame him …"

"_I_ know how he feels about you, and I'm beginning to really see how you feel about him. He's always the first person that you call to your rescue and even when you don't call he's the first to show up. If he doesn't show up you ask about him. You've always claimed to just be friends, but I don't think that's true.

"We are just friends," I interrupted.

"When he was shot I've never seen you like that before. I've seen you in every type of disastrous event and you have never been as hysterical as you were when he was on your apartment floor bleeding."

"Well Jesus Christ, Joe. I was duct taped to a fucking chair, unable to help him. Unable to stop what was happening. I was trying to protect his daughter. I was forced to choose. Do you have any idea what I'd be right now if Ranger would've died? Do you? I'll tell you, I'd be a nut, living in a white padded cell. I'd completely blame myself for killing my best friend."

"Stephanie, I just found you the day before, after being kidnapped and a bomb strapped to you and you were fine. You were fine after almost being killed. I was hysterical, and all you could think about was getting to Ranger's daughter. After getting kidnapped and stuck in a coffin you went back and took the psycho out yourself. Minutes after being hit several times by a gang member and almost gang raped you were smiling and waving. Yet seeing Ranger get shot had you in such a state you still couldn't breathe with an oxygen mask on. I've never seen you cry as hard as you were that day. So maybe what you should be doing is being honest with yourself and me about how you really feel about him. Your reaction was about more than just not being able to do anything. It was more than about choosing to keep his daughter alive. I deserve to know the truth after dealing with him smack in the middle of our relationship for the last three years."

He was right about everything he just said. I knew how I felt about Ranger, but honestly maybe I didn't know how obvious I was about my feelings.

"What I'm doing is for myself, nobody else. What I've decided is my happiness should be the most important thing to me. I'm not going to settle for anything less than what I truly want anymore. I love my job now. I'm proud of all that I've accomplished and still plan to accomplish in the future. My family is finally proud of me. My mom accepts my life and my choices. They know I'm doing what is necessary for my safety. I'm stronger now, and I don't mean just physically, but mentally. I don't feel like a loser anymore. I'm not incompetent anymore. I'm not a fuck up bounty hunter from hell anymore. I'm good at my job. I have a partner that I trust with my life and she trusts me with hers. I'm building friendships with a group of men that I respect, admire, and trust. Ranger and I are friends. We have a mutual attraction to each other that extends beyond friendship, but I don't really know beyond that. I know how I feel about him, but I haven't really shared those feelings with him yet, so I don't think it would be fair to share them with you first."

I hoped my tone finalized the conversation since I didn't know if Ranger was currently standing in the kitchen. Joe snorted, and I glared at him.

"You love him. Do you think he loves you back? You think he wants a relationship with you? I don't know if I would bet on that if I were you Steph. He doesn't strike me as the type that wants to be tied down. I think he only wants you for one thing. You know how I feel about him, and you know how I feel about his men too. If you were concerned about our ability to lie right to each others faces, don't you think you should be concerned about him. Do you really think he tells you the truth? That he doesn't lie to you? Do you even know anything about him? You know some of the basics in a standard relationship. If I can't be with you, Steph, he's not the kind of man I want you with," Joe said no longer in his calm voice.

"I never said anything about a relationship with Ranger. Whatever is going on between us is between him and me. I hold no delusions on just what Ranger wants to do to me. He wants to do it bad, too. I also hold no delusions on the kind man he is. I know what you think of him and his men and they are not psychos. See I know psychos Joe, and they go after good people not bad people. I don't understand what you have against him or his men. Ranger has never done anything personally to you, that I know of, to cause such dislike if not hatred toward him. Sure he chases me a little, but that's no reason. You have had issues with him and his men for a long time now. In fact even before we were together. I remember you making a comment about Ranger when you were FTA. I don't get it. He thinks you are a good man and a good cop and in my presence has never said one bad thing about you. Ranger operates by a strong moral code that might not always be completely legal, but he believes in what he does and he does it well. He doesn't lie to me, either. He omits things and uses misdirection or he flat out tells me to not go there, but he doesn't out right lie to me. Ranger just happens to be one of the best people I know. He and his men have done more for me than I can ever repay. I respect and trust each and every one of them. They deserve respect. Please don't ever disrespect him or his men in my presence again," I said, my voice calm and even toned. I didn't answer the relationship questions. It was none of his business what I knew about Ranger.

"Sorry, Stephanie, but Manoso isn't my friend so I don't have to like him or respect him. I will keep my comments to myself when I'm around you, though, only because I do respect you. I noticed something while you were defending him. You didn't answer the question on how well you know him," he said with a grin.

"How silly of me. Yes," I said simply catching him off guard.

"Huh? Yes what?" I smiled. He smiled in return. "Friends?"

"Always," I replied. He stepped closer to me and wrapped me in a hug. God I was glad it ended this way. If it had to end I wanted it to end on a good note.

"I just have one more question. If you don't want to answer that's fine, but it's bugged me for a long time." I nodded for him to continue. He pulled out of the hug and looked in my eyes. "Did you ever sleep with him?" I didn't want to know how big my eyes were. Oh shit.

"I never cheated on you." That's it answer, but don't really answer. He frowned at me.

"Don't say that, Steph, because that's not true." I stepped away from him and glared. "Sex isn't the only form of cheating. You didn't cheat with sex, but can you honestly say you never let him touch you or kiss you and that you didn't kiss him back. When you left my house during the slayer mess where did you stay? Where did you sleep? Where did he sleep when he was living here with you a few months ago?"

I swallowed hard. Shit I'm a slut. I'm a no good cheating slut. He was right.

"I never meant to hurt you, Joe. I think I was doing everything I could to convince myself that I wasn't cheating as long as I didn't have sex with him. I figured out yesterday that some things are more intimate than sex. Those are the things I allowed to happen between us. At first it was just because we were both attracted to each other. I think it's grown since then. I'm really sorry. I'm not going to make excuses because there are none. Just know that I do love you, and I want you to be happy. I don't want to lose you from my life, and for the record I slept on his couch when he was home."

"Not going anywhere, Cupcake. So where is Ranger?"

I held my eyes closed and gritted my teeth. "Probably in the kitchen."

He laughed. "I'll be sure to say hi on my way out. So do I get your new numbers or what? Do I have to sign a contract or give a blood oath?" I rolled my eyes, told him my address and numbers, gave him a kiss, and he left shouting a farewell to who knows how many individuals in the kitchen. I silently slid down the wall and buried my face in my arms.

"Babe."


	5. Chapter Four

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Four**

Ranger was standing in the door way to the bathroom, while I was sitting on the floor with my face buried in my arms. I hadn't responded to his 'Babe' so I wondered how long he'd stand there waiting for me to talk.

"Are you mad I'm here?" he asked.

I looked up at him. Blank face was firmly in place.

"Stop that," I said pointing at his face.

He lifted an eyebrow at me.

"You want to talk to me leave the fucking blank face outside the door. I'm not mad. I knew you were here. I'm tired of that, though." I pointed at his face that still held the blank mask. "Joe puts on his cop face whenever we talk about something serious or he needs to lie to me, and you put on your blank mask anytime something might require an emotion. Would it fucking kill you to show you have emotions? You wonder why I don't think about your control level. Maybe it's because you don't ever show that anything affects you. My emotions, my feelings are on display for all to see. I can't hide them. I don't even know how. If you want me to think of you as a man, and not a superhero, fuckin' act like one." I covered my face again.

Shit why did I just do that? I wasn't mad at him. I felt the tears slide down my face. I was lifted up and placed back down in Ranger's lap. He cradled me to his chest rubbing my back softly. The tears kept coming.

"I'm sorry, Stephanie."

My head sprang off his chest, and I looked him in the eyes. I'd never heard him say he was sorry about anything. He gently wiped the tears from my cheeks with his thumbs.

"When I went into the Army, it didn't take me long to figure out I wanted to be a Ranger. I got into the Ranger Indoctrination Program after Airborne School, and for four weeks I was trained to lead and command while enduring significant mental, emotional, and physical stress. During training they drill into your head to never show fear or panic. It's a habit now. If at any time I feel fear or panic, I wipe it from my face. Over time more emotions have been added to the list. I use the blank mask in work because I don't want people to know what I'm thinking or feeling. I don't do it to hurt you, Babe, it's just a natural reaction," he said, and tucked a curl behind my ear that came out of my ponytail.

I repositioned myself on his lap so I was facing him completely, still reeling from getting a tidbit into his life. It was always such a treat when I got something.

"Why the mask when you asked if I was mad? What were you thinking?"

He looked down at my lips briefly before looking back up to my eyes. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his forehead against mine, his fingers drawing small circles on my back. "I'm not sure I'm ready to answer that question right now."

We were so close to each other. Talking quietly. I was sitting on his thighs with my knees resting on the floor on each side of his legs. I moved my hands up to rest on his chest. I kept them still for just a moment before I slowly ran them up to his torso to his shoulders. I continued up each side of his neck until I reached his cheeks. I ran my thumbs across his bottom lip and felt his breath catch. I pulled my head back and looked in his gleaming warm brown eyes.

"I'm very confused right now, Ranger. I need to understand why you would ask me if I was mad about you being here."

"Let's do it later. Everybody is waiting for us at Shorty's." He hugged me tighter to him before lifting us both off the floor with ease. He placed a soft kiss on the tip of my nose and sat me back on my feet. He smiled and led me out of the bathroom with all the cleaning supplies gathered together. We took the elevator down, and I left my old apartment and bad memories behind as I got into Ranger's car. Ranger was instantly in is driving zone, and I was extremely hungry. We drove about a mile when Ranger cleared his throat, and I turned to look at him.

"We got back to the apartment just as Lula was getting out of Tank's SUV. When we got to your floor your door stood wide open. We went in to search your apartment and heard you talking. When we heard Morelli we holstered our guns." He chuckled. "All of us but Lula. It took Tank a little negotiating to get her to put her gun away. Why did she react that way?" He glanced at me when we stopped at a red light.

The thought of Lula barging into the bathroom gun drawn and pointed at Joe, brought me to a giggling fit. I looked over at Ranger, and he was giving me the raised eyebrow look, but he was still grinning. I reached up and touched his cheek. His breath caught, and I think I stopped breathing all together. My stomach was in knots. I was only touching his cheek. What was wrong with us? I saw the light turn green out of the corner of my eye. He turned into my hand and lightly kissed the inside of my wrist before turning out of my touch and concentrated back on driving. I'd never initiated any physical contact with him. Why suddenly did I feel the need to touch him in some way? I turned toward him in my seat.

"She's a little pissed at him for expecting me to put my life on hold while he played cop out of town. She says I was the only one bending for our relationship and that needed to stop. She's pretty animated about her opinions." He nodded and did his almost smile.

"After Tank got her calmed down, I shut the door just loud enough that I figured you would hear and we went into the kitchen. Lula ate a doughnut right away. Then she ate another and two more. She ate them all within five minutes."

He stopped talking and frowned. I'd never seen the man frown before. Wasn't sure I really liked that look. He looked unsure. And that was very disturbing.

"When I figured out what you two were talking about, or I should say who you were talking about I wanted to leave, but Lula said she wasn't going anywhere when Morelli was being pissy with you. That comment was the only reason I stayed. I wasn't sure exactly what she meant by it and that bothered me, so I stayed."

"You thought I was mad at you for staying and hearing what we were talking about?" He gave me the slight nod as we pulled into Shorty's. I knew they were there and if I wanted the conversation to be private I would have ended it when I heard the door. I wanted Ranger to hear what I was saying.

"I was scared of what your reaction was going to be after hearing everything I said. When I looked up at you I wanted to see something in your eyes, an expression on your face. Anything that might give me a clue about what you might be feeling, but instead I got nothing. That made me mad. Then I hurt. The tears weren't for Morelli. That was over in my head weeks ago. I'm sad because we couldn't make it work, but mostly I just felt relief. If it had to really be over for good, then I wanted it to end on good terms. I hurt because I feel like you don't trust me as much as I trust you. You won't let me in and that kills me." My eyes filled with tears making my vision blurry.

Why wouldn't he let me in? Why didn't he want me bad enough to let us be together? Should I take what I could get and pretend I didn't want more? No, I couldn't do that. The tears started falling and I didn't have the energy to try and stop them.

"Shit." I heard Ranger say and he was out of the car.

God I was such an emotional basket case. He was probably running as far away from me as possible. Why was I acting like a love sick obsessed woman? I must be freaking him out. My door was jerked open and he undid my seat belt, turning me around to face him. He was between my legs cupping my face. He leaned forward and started kissing my tears away. I cried harder.

"Stephanie, please Babe, stop crying. I trust you, Steph, and I let you in, too. Think about it." I took a deep breath and looked in his eyes. "You know me. You just don't know my past. I know you, but I don't know your past either. I tell you things I only tell my family and Tank. You've known about Julie for years. I took you to my neighborhood and told you a little about my childhood. You have access to my entire building, including a key to my apartment which I've never allowed another woman to enter. What does that tell you? I hold back a little to protect myself. You're not mine, Stephanie. Up until 30 minutes ago you were Morelli's. I don't even know how you really feel about me or how much you trust me. I don't want to guess. I know you trust me with your life, but I don't know about anything else. You're real quick to ask questions about me, but not at all quick to volunteer information about you. Something to think about." I nodded. He wiped all traces of my tears off my face and took my hand.

I felt like shit. All this time I'd kept my distance because he was so secretive, and I was being just as secretive. Granted I wasn't doing it on purpose, but still. I'd told him very little about my past, if anything at all. I could fix that, though. I could tell him all about my past. As much as he wanted to know. But the trust thing needed to be fixed. That was important, but it was going to take time. We got to the door and I pulled on Ranger's hand to stop him. He looked at me curiously.

"My mom always warned me to stay away from the Morelli boys." I smiled at the memory. "She said they were bad news. The warnings started when I was old enough to understand what she was talking about. I didn't listen to authority even back then. I was even more curious about bad boy Morelli because I was warned to stay away. When I was six I give in to the temptation and followed Joe into his father's garage because he told me he was going to teach me a new game. He called it choo-choo. I was severely disappointed since I only got to be the tunnel. I really wanted to be the train."

Ranger let out a bark of laughter. "He didn't have the right plumbing to be the tunnel, Babe," he said, grinning. He leaned forward and kissed me hard on the mouth. "Thanks for sharing, Steph." We smiled at each other and walked into Shorty's.

It had been over two years since I'd eaten at Shorty's. I remembered the pizza was outstanding, but the environment was just plain scary. Ranger had my hand and we were walking through the place heading to the back booth and table where the guys were sitting. There were two spots available in the booth, and what do you know they were against the wall. I smiled to myself.

The place was packed just like last time, except I wasn't as nervous. Many eyes followed us, well me actually, but I think it was because Ranger held my hand tight in his and people were curious about our relationship. The closer we got to the tables I realized a few more guys joined the group. I saw Ace, Vince, Nate, Woody, and Roy in addition to Lula, Tank, Hal, Bobby, and Lester. When we got to the booth everybody stopped talking. Jesus if that wasn't a give away I didn't know what was. I hated being talked about. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Not all the people in my life make fun of me.

"Should I leave and come back when you've finished talking shit," I said, pretending to be mad while glaring around at all the guys between the tables. Ranger grinned and sat down pulling me with him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and asked me quietly what I wanted to drink.

"The beer is fine."

Lester poured me a mug of beer from the pitcher and passed it to me from across the table. "You hurt me, Sweetie. I would never talk shit about you." He winked at me, and I smiled. "Bobby, Hal, and I were just describing your take-down this morning. Then we informed the rest of the guys that you defended all of us this afternoon. Called us your friends and said it wasn't going to change."

Good thing I didn't jump to conclusions. Boy would I have felt like shit.

"Did I say that? I don't remember saying that. Ranger, do you remember me saying that?" I asked. Ranger chuckled and took a drink of his beer.

I reached for a piece of pizza and placed it on my plate. I grabbed another piece and put it on Ranger's plate. He muttered thanks and grabbed two napkins handing one to me. I brought the pizza slice to my mouth and devoured it in three bites. I was freaking starving and the pizza was delicious. I looked up and the guys were staring at me, mouths open. I looked at Ranger, and he seemed to think it was funny. He was doing his almost smile. It looked like he was trying not to laugh. It was his amused face. I looked back at the group and rolled my eyes while reaching for another slice of pizza.

As we all ate the talking turned casual and playful. Most of the guys teased Tank and Lula about their goodbye kiss from the day before. I smiled and enjoyed the company. Ranger seemed to be doing the same thing. He was playing with my hair, twisting the curls on the back of my head around his finger. I leaned my head against his shoulder and listened to Lula tell Roy off for making fun of the big boy endearment she uses for Tank. I felt Ranger chuckle. I looked up at him, and he looked down, smiling at me. Two days now I'd seen this group of men relaxed, laughing, and just having a good time. I was in awe they were capable. I'd seen Ranger relax around me more and more over the years, but this was nice. It just felt right to be here with these guys. I leaned up and affectionately brushed a kiss against Ranger's lips. I pulled back and met the most incredible smile I'd ever seen grace Ranger's lips. Wow I just kissed Ranger. I didn't return a kiss from him. I kissed him for the first time, and he was happy. I smiled back.

"Steph, you want to talk to Ranger about it now?" Lula asked, drawing my attention from Ranger.

Huh? Talk about it? Oh right. "Yeah now's a good time." I looked at Ranger and put my finger on his eyebrow that I knew was about to go up in question.

"Smart ass," he said, laughing.

"Lula and I were talking one day after finishing target practice and we wanted to discuss a business proposition with you. As you know we're going after higher bonded skips, and we figured there might be times when we need some extra help. We want to discuss the extra help with you."

"Not much to discuss, Babe. Let me know if you ever need extra help, and I'll send some guys if I can't be there myself."

"That's not what we want," Lula said, drawing Ranger's attention to her.

"And what is it that you want?"

"We want to pay for the help," Lula said, holding his eyes, and I was biting my bottom lip off.

"I believe Stephanie explained our deal with each other yesterday at the office. There is no price for what we give each other. She doesn't pay for my help. You're her partner so you don't pay for my help either," Ranger said, quietly.

"Can you listen to our idea and then really think about. Don't be quick to shoot it down simply because of our no price arrangement. We're willing to compromise if you are. However, before I explain our idea keep one thing in mind. This isn't Babe talking to Ranger. This is Stephanie and Lula, Fugitive Apprehension Agents working for Vincent Plum Bail Bonds talking with Carlos Manoso of RangeMan. This isn't personal. This isn't about you and me. It's not about what we are to each other, or how we feel about each other. This is about a business decision. What do you say?" I asked, holding Ranger with my eyes. Ranger was watching me seriously, and then he smiled and drank some more beer.

"I'll listen," he said, leaning back a little in his spot.

"So here's what we're thinking. We want to pay RangeMan for the guys to assist us when we need it. They have to be off the clock while working with us and we'll pay them directly. The jobs are voluntary and first come first serve. Each volunteer will get a file on all our skips so they're up to date. Oh and the guys can't ask for time off to work a job with us," I explained.

"Explain to me why you want to pay RangeMan for employees that are off the clock."

"Because you can't use the employee while they are working for us. If you have an emergency you will be short handed and may have to contract out. We're covering for that possibility."

"What happens if an emergency arrives for you?" He tucked a curl behind my ear, letting his fingers linger a little longer than necessary. He had a strange look in his eyes. He looked almost worried. I wasn't sure what that was all about.

"At any time we have an emergency we will take who is off and available and make do while keeping everybody involved safe," Lula said.

"I have problem with this, Steph. I don't ever want the two of you to be short handed because you're obsessed with me not helping free of charge," Ranger said, leaning forward, resting his arms on the table.

"This isn't you sending your men to protect me because I'm in over my head. This is your men assisting us in a take-down. If they are assisting us they need to be paid for it. We want you to let us pay them. It's not up to you to pay them for assisting us," I said, putting my hand on his.

He took my hand in his, lacing our fingers together. "Okay I get that part. There is still the short handed issue. What if instead of the guys having to be off, if something comes up I stop paying them when they leave to work for you two."

I squeezed his hand that was holding mine and shook my head. "Then you're short handed. We don't want that. You're running a business Ranger, not the Stephanie and Lula pity party."

He jerked me closer to him and cupped my cheek forcing me to look him in the eyes. "What did I tell you about that pity thing? I want you safe, Babe. Here's where I want you to compromise. I'll let you pay my men for work they do for you two, if you bend your rules regarding them being off at the time. They will be off the second they sign on with your job." I signed. I wasn't going to win on that matter. I looked at Lula. She shrugged.

"Okay here's the compromise," I said, and he leaned back slightly keeping our hands linked. "The guys that are off have first dibs after that only the guys you or Tank approve for the time off can sign up. You can only approve of the time off if it doesn't put RangeMan in a pinch in any way. I trust you to follow that." He smiled and tapped the tip of my nose. I think it was thanks for the trust. "I have a feeling there won't be too many volunteering anyway."

"What makes you think that," Ranger asked with his eyebrows narrowed.

"Do you trust me to watch your back?"

"You know I do."

Okay so maybe asking Ranger was the wrong person. We've been through too many life and death situations for me to ask him that question. I'd have to make my point with the other guys. I looked at Tank. No he was bias too. I looked at Bobby, Hal, and Lester they were giving me the 'ask us' look. I rolled my eyes.

"Same question," I said, looking at the three stooges.

"Before yesterday none of us really knew Lula, so this morning was our first glance at her. However, we've known you longer so before this morning I would have been nervous to allow you to watch my back, but I would have given you a shot at it. Now I trust you both completely," Bobby said, getting nods from Lester and Hal.

"Why? Because you saw us do one take-down. A take-down of a man that may have been triple our size, but he wasn't known to be dangerous. So I did a few moves and got my wrist free. So I took him down. He really didn't put up much of a fight. He never tried hitting me. He never tried really hurting me in any way. It wasn't a fight for my safety or my life," I said, wanting them to explain their reason.

"You're right the guy wasn't particularly dangerous this morning. His looks were deceiving. Here's the thing, though. When you sit and watch you see things, and we all saw plenty to be sure we trust you two to watch our backs," Lester said.

"Like?" Lula asked.

"We'll start with Steph. How long does it take you to assess a room?" Hal asked.

"Depends on the size." They all gave me raised eyebrows, and I smiled. "I wasn't keeping track this morning, so I don't know the exact time but I'm fast. I'm always sent in first during training so I can assess the room before the rest of the team joins me, but it doesn't matter. My point is you saw something in Lula and me to make you trust us. Eddie, for instance, didn't see us, so it's not fair to say he should trust us right." Lester smiled. "We understand that we need to prove ourselves before all the guys will be willing to work with us. They have no reason to trust us. So we told them we've been training, big deal. You told them we took a 265 pound man down, big deal. We can talk all we want it doesn't mean anything. We have to give them a reason to trust us. Prove to them that their life is safe in our hands. You have to really trust a person to allow them to watch your back in a dangerous situation. There's no room for doubt and at this moment very few RangeMan employees will have complete confidence they are protected with Lula or I watching their back. We're not mad that there will be doubts. We will extend the offer indefinitely."

"It's not about proving yourself to some people. You will never be able to. They'll always think a woman is the weaker sex, and can never do what a man can do," Ace said, rolling his eyes.

"Besides, some things aren't worth the effort. Some people don't deserve the effort," Roy continued flaring his nostrils.

"Here's the deal," Ranger said, drawing my attention to him. "You pay RangeMan to contract out the guys just like you wanted. Connie faxes all info to me I'll pass it on. Put together a letter detailing the requirements and bring it into the office. Tank will get it to the guys. Let me know who wants to be involved. We'll work out the price details later."

"Why are you giving us exactly what we want?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"It occurred to me that maybe I'm the one making a big deal about our financial arrangement. You're right this isn't about me protecting you. This isn't guard duty. In the end you get what you want, and I know you have sufficient backup. I'm pleased you two realize you might not be enough at times. This further proves you are taking your safety seriously," Ranger said, smiling and brushed a finger along my jaw line as a cell started ringing.

"This is Lula," Lula said and laughed after a second. "Her phone had a slight mishap this morning."

Oh crap I forgot I broke my phone. I smacked myself in the forehead and Ranger grabbed my hand. He lightly kissed my palm and shook his head. Guess he didn't want me causing permanent damage. I looked back at Lula to see her smiling.

"I appreciate your call." She hung up and looked at me grinning. "You feel like clubbing tonight."

I smiled. "Who's up for a job tonight? We need four guys," I asked. Lester, Bobby, and Hal looked offended that I didn't just assume they would be three of the guys. Jesus I turned and looked at the other guys seated to my left. "Does one of you want to join us for a take-down tonight?" I felt Ranger place his hand on my lower back. His fingers started drawing hypnotic little circles.

"I'll do it," Ace said, smiling. "I'm just dying to see the two of you in action." I focused my attention on the rest of the guys, while desperately trying to ignore the feeling Ranger's fingers were causing me.

"This job will take place at the nightclub Autumn Realm. We should be there and in place by nine. This guy is a regular there." I paused trying to get my breathing under control. Lester raised an eyebrow at me then grinned slightly before sliding a glance at Ranger. I pressed back in an attempt to trap Ranger's hand between my back and the bench seat. "Let's get together at my place around seven o'clock to go over all the particulars of the job and that will give you SIX a chance to get real acquainted with Mr. Uterway."

Ranger flattened his hand on my lower back and slid his hand around to my side. He squeezed my hip sending a blast of pleasure straight to my center. It was taking everything I had not to moan. I turned and looked at him, my eyes unfocused.

"Does that mean Tank and I, are invited to join the take-down?" he asked, smiling while adding pressure to my hip. "I guess we need to discuss those price details now instead of later." His voice was soft, intimate.

"Both of you are always welcome to join our take-downs, but since we don't pay you we don't consider you as part of the number we need. I do feel I should explain something very important to you, though."

Ranger lifted his eyebrow and deepened his hold on my hip. "What's that, Babe?"

I leaned in closer so it would be harder for others to hear. "If you don't stop what you're doing right now, the only details we will be discussing now instead of later is how quickly you can drive while I'm undressing you."

His hand froze on my hip but his grip tightened and his eyes blackened. Our eyes remained locked, and I felt his hand move under my shirt and touched bare skin. That snapped my control. It was time to leave.

"The four of you need to decide who's partnering whom. Have that decided when you arrive at my apartment. Make sure you're dressed to blend in at the club. We're leaving now," I said, my eyes never left Ranger's. I slid out of the booth pulling him with me.

We got to his car, and he went to open the door for me, but I slammed it shut again. I grabbed him by the front of the shirt and pulled him to me kissing him hard with lots of tongue. I eased the kiss and nibbled a little on his bottom lip, dragging a low moan from him.

I smiled and whisper against his lips, "And you say I'm trouble."

He smiled back and opened the passenger door. I reached behind my seat and grabbed my extra cell phone out of my equipment bag. I took my smart chip out of my broken cell and put it in my replacement cell. I powered my phone on and gave it a minute to receive new messages. It chimed and showed five new messages. I groaned and put the phone to my ear.

'_Stephanie this is your mother_.' No shit! '_I just got off the phone with Emily Beeber, who talked with Loretta, who talked with Myra, who heard from Angie Bono that Joe was back in town. Have you talked with him yet? Where are you? I called your apartment and your cell is off. Why aren't you answering your phones? Are you with Joe now? You should come to dinner tonight and bring Carlos._' I smiled and looked at Ranger. He looked back at me raising his eyebrow. '_I'm making a nice pot roast with apple pie for dessert. He doesn't eat dessert does he? I don't understand that. How can any person not eat dessert?'_ I wonder the same thing Mom. I'd never understand.

'_Steph Oh My God did you hear Joe is back in town? Have you seen him yet? You have to call me once you've talked to him.' _Mary Lou gotta love her.

'_Stephanie this is your mother again.' _I rolled my eyes and put my finger to my eye to stop the twitch. '_You haven't called me back yet. I heard something about you taking in a huge black man, but the information was sketchy. I want to know about this. Something about him holding onto your wrist and a very foul name that I refuse to repeat was used. You weren't hurt were you? Is this why I haven't heard from you? I'm calling the hospital. I don't like that I can't get you on the phone. I need to get Carlos's numbers so I can reach you when I'm worried. I need Lula's numbers, too. She's your partner after all.'_ Oh boy. There was no way in hell I was giving her Ranger's anything. I caught his grin out of the corner of my eye. Did I say that out loud?

'_Ms. Plum this is Eric Thomas the manager at Neon Bar. I wanted to let you know Ron Uterway was here today. By the time I got a chance to call you he was preparing to leave. He did, however, inform the waitress he was catching up with some friends tonight at Autumn Realm.'_

'_Ms. Plum this is Rachel Maxine. You contacted me regarding Ron Uterway.' _I leaned forward pressing the phone to my ear. '_He called today and talked to Mike. Mike doesn't know I'm calling you. I waited until he left for the store. Please he can't find out I called you.'_

I flipped my seat belt off and reach around my seat for my bag. Ranger was turning a corner just as I reached into the back seat and I fell into him losing my cell in the process. "Shit. I'm sorry. Damn it where did my cell go." He handed me my cell once he was able to pull off the road. I finished getting a pen and tablet and replayed Rachel's message. I waved my hand in the speed up motion like my phone could fast forward through the beginning of her message.

'_I pretended to be cleaning the kitchen while they talked, so I don't think he knows I heard anything. Mike asked him if he had a gun then they started talking about the nightclub Autumn Realm. He told Ron that Donnie was bouncing tonight. Donnie is friends with them. He always lets us right in when we arrive no matter how long the line is. He also never searches us, so if Ron has a gun he'll still have it inside the club. He won't be the only one with a gun, though. All the guys will have one. The usual crew will be there tonight. Ron is the only guy in the crew that doesn't have a girl right now. So he will be looking to take a piece of ass home. He likes them rich and well put together. He hates when a woman looks too easy. We'll be there by nine o'clock.'_

"That was Uterway's best friend's girlfriend. They will be there at nine and apparently my skip likes rich woman that don't look easy. Oh and we're going to be faced with four armed men tonight," I told Ranger after shutting my phone.

"Not good, Babe."

"No shit. I don't want this to get messy. We're running out of time to get this guy. We want to pay RangeMan a thousand?"

"No. Two hundred." I glared. "Four hundred and not a penny more."

"Fine four hundred to RangeMan and nine hundred to each of the guys." Ranger blinked a few times and pulled back onto the road without a word.

I called my mom back. I managed to get out of talking about Joe for the moment and dinner for the night. It was close to 3:30pm when we got back to my apartment. Ranger and I each grabbed our bag and the cleaning supplies and went up to my apartment.

"Mind if I take a shower, Babe?"

"Not at all. Mind if I join you?" I asked. Ranger smiled. "It's a trust thing."

"Explain," Ranger said, while I walked into my bedroom and depositing my bag on my bed before continuing into the bathroom. Ranger followed behind me not pushing for an explanation.

"You need to understand the depth of my trust in you. So I'm going to show you how much I trust you instead of just telling you. One thing that has clouded my trust in you is that I've always been nervous around you because I was scared of how you made me feel. I was scared it was so easy to be attracted to you, especially sexually, when I was in a relationship with Morelli. I realized that once I allowed the trust to break through the cloud, my nerves evaporated. Now that I'm not nervous around you I think it's high time to show you that I trust you with more than just my life," I said, while empting my hoodie pockets and setting everything on the counter before pulling it over my head.

I lifted each foot and removed my sneakers and socks. I looked up at Ranger, locking eyes with him, and pulled my shirt off. My pants followed my shirt. "I'm going to set aside the fact that I want you bad and just be with you in an entirely intimate situation without sex being the ultimate goal. I'm going to take a shower with you because I trust you with my body."

I turned away from Ranger and started the water. I got the temperature just right and turned to look at him again. He was still standing fully clothed in the middle of the bathroom. I grinned and removed my sports bra and panties before getting in the shower. I stepped under the water and let it wash away my morning. The sweat from my run, the tussle with my skip, and the conversation with Morelli. I heard the shower door close and opened my eyes to Ranger. He stepped forward keeping his eyes locked with mine. He took me in his arms and started dropping his mouth to mine. I closed my eyes loving the feel of his naked body touching mine. I felt him pull away so I opened my eyes. Once our eyes locked again he started dropping his mouth to mine. I kept my eyes open this time. Our lips touched and our eyes stayed locked. He kissed me deeply, tongues caressing and exploring each others mouths. Every nerve ending in my body was tingling. He eased out of the kiss after several minutes of exploring.

"Thank you for trusting me this much." He smiled and ran his hands down my back stopping at the top of my butt.

"You realize by you following me in the shower you showed me you trust me with your body too." He smiled and nodded. "I didn't think you were going to ever move from the middle of the bathroom," I said, teasing him.

"You shocked me. I wasn't expecting this." He smiled and traced my lips with his finger. "Can I wash your hair?"

I lifted an eyebrow at him before reaching over for the shampoo. "Now this is trust. A girl's hair is sacred."

We spent the next half hour washing each other from head to toe. I shaved all my important body parts, and Ranger watched with fascination. We dried each other off and got ready to go grocery shopping. I talked Ranger into taking me while I was washing his body. Men are so easy. I skipped over the heavy make-up and settled for just lip gloss since I had to slut myself up later. As for my hair I left it down to air dry. I left the bathroom just before Ranger and got dressed in straight leg dark blue jeans and a cobalt blue crew neck form-fitting sweater. To my utter shock Ranger came out of the bathroom dressed in dark blue jeans and a gray cable knit sweater. He smiled at me and closed my dropped jaw with his finger tip. I threw on three inch, spike heeled, black, leather ankle boots and we left for Jimmy's Meat Market. After Jimmy's we went to Italian Peoples and to New York Bagel Shop and Deli, where we ate dinner, before heading back to my apartment.

It was after 6:00pm by the time we got back and I still didn't have a clue how to handle the take-down. I needed to lure Uterway away from his friends and out the door. I needed to figure out how to deal with the friends issue. The bouncer was a major complication as well. Crap how was I getting everybody in. I ran out of the kitchen, where Ranger and I were putting the food away, grabbed the Uterway file and rushed back to the kitchen, grabbing the phone on the way. I threw myself down into the chair and flipped through the pages looking for the club's number. Ranger came over and looked down at what I was doing.

"Autumn Realm this is Kelly."

"Kelly, this is Stephanie Plum. I've been told Ron Uterway will be at your club tonight. Lula and I will be there with a team to get him. We want to avoid a scene, but we've run into a possible problem. I was informed Donny is your bouncer tonight and it seems Donnie is friends with Uterway and his friends. I guess he lets them right in without searching them. My informant tells me all of them carry in your club."

"This is a big problem. What do you suggest?" Kelly asked me.

"My team and I need in with no questions asked, so what I suggest is you let me place one of my men as your bouncer for a short time. He'll remove the problem from Uterway and we'll get in with no problems. Once all of us are in you can replace him with one of your bouncers and he'll wander the inside. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good. Who will be here and when?" she asked. I smiled oh this was going to be fun.

"He'll be there just before eight. Don't tell Donnie he's being replaced until my guy is there. I don't want him to have a chance to call and warn Uterway. Keep him busy for me, too. Oh and my guy's name is Carlos Manoso," I said, smiling at Ranger's raised eyebrow.

"Is he hot?" she asked me. I looked Ranger up and down stopping at various spots that I particularly liked a lot. I met his eyes again which were intense with desire.

"Hot doesn't even begin to describe him." I kept my eyes locked with Ranger's. "I'll give you an overall description so you'll know him when you see him. He's a six foot tall Cuban-American with straight black hair, which he wears back in a tie. His eyes are Latino and the most amazing melted chocolate brown. His body is orgasmic," I explained, watching Ranger's eyes blacken more with each word. Ranger reached down to take the phone from me.

"I'm looking forward to seeing him. Later, Stephanie," she said and hung up.

I let Ranger take the phone. He took my hand and pulled me up into his arms. I lightly traced his lips with my fingertip, and just as lightly he circled his tongue around my finger drawing it into his mouth. I moaned causing his eyes to darken even more if that was possible. He released my finger and was lowering his mouth to mine painfully slow when his jeans started to vibrate and ring. The vibration hit me in just the right spot, and I unconsciously moaned while grinding my hips against his leg. He tightened his hold on me pulling me closer to that vibration. My orgasm hit me fast and hard. I screamed out his name, and arched into him. Ranger held me tight to his chest calmly rubbing my back as I came back to Earth. I snuggled into his chest and listened to him talking to somebody on his phone. That phone needed to be plated in gold and hung on a wall. Now anytime I hear it ring I was going to smile like a freshly satisfied woman. I raised my head off his chest and met Ranger's eyes.

"Jesus, Babe. You are so beautiful. I'll never look at my phone the same. I'm currently rethinking my position on gadgets." I giggled remembering when he found all my purchases from Treasure Pleasure. I leaned up on tiptoes to kiss him, while I rubbed against his extremely hard body. He groaned stopping my hips from moving. "We don't have time. I've waited for over two years to be with you again, and I don't plan on it being a quickie."

"Who was on the phone?" I asked.

"Tank."

"I don't even know what I'm wearing, yet. I should figure that out." I leaned up and kissed him once more and jetted off to the bedroom.

Ranger followed me into my bedroom and flopped down on the bed watching me stare into my closet. I couldn't believe I waited until the last minute to figure out what I was going to wear. I needed something unbelievably hot. This wasn't like my other distraction jobs where I go into a bar and slide onto the bar stool next to the skip. I was going into a very hot nightclub where I was going to be battling for this guy's attention from various women. This guy was sexy as hell too. He had warm brown eyes and brown wavy hair. Not to mention the 230 pounds of solid muscle. I saw pictures off him without a shirt when we went to his parents' house. Yummy. Omigod what was I thinking? I was lusting after one of my skips. Granted it wasn't like he was a violent offender, but still he was a freaking felon. Jesus I had some serious hormone build up. That orgasm didn't even put a dent in my stock pile. I mean really it only took a little bit of vibration to send me to the moon. I wasn't getting anywhere. I needed to find a come hither dress that screamed money, but not a slut.

"I like the black one," Ranger said from the bed. I looked down, not even realizing I was holding a dress, to see two dresses I recently purchased from Victoria's Secret. I'd forgotten about this black dress. It was perfect.

I heard the front door open and Ranger gave me one last sultry look before hopping off the bed to greet my guests. I stepped into the bathroom and hung my dress on the back of the door. I wasn't putting it on until I was ready to walk out the door. I looked up when I heard a noise and saw Lula walking into my bathroom giving me a funny look.

"What?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"You certainly got that orgasm glow, but not as much as I thought you would after having some Ranger lovin," Lula said, looking me over.

"I didn't get any Ranger lovin, but I do need to thank Tank for calling when he did. I really, really enjoyed the phone call." Her eyes got big, and I laughed leaving the bathroom to join the guys in the kitchen.

"What are you laughing about, Babe?" Ranger asked, while wrapping his arms around me.

"I was just telling Lula how much I enjoyed Tanks phone call." Ranger tipped his head back and laughed. Tank gave us a funny look, and I saw Lula lean in and whisper something in his ear. I swear he blushed.

Ranger kissed me on the forehead and went in my room to change for the night's activities and Tank started getting all the sound equipment ready. The guys showed up right at seven, and I showed them into the dinning room.

"Okay guys the job pays nine hundred each. Ranger's bouncing so no waiting in line. Go right up to him get searched and go in. This is to ensure we keep our guns on us."

I showed them the layout for the club and pointed out where they needed to position themselves. "Ace and Hal we want you here," I said, pointing to the area closest to the emergency exit in the rear of the club. "Bobby and Lester we want you here." I pointed to the area closest to the DJ, so they could see the entire club. "Lula and Tank will be here." I pointed to the area next to the front door so they could easily follow me out. "Once I'm in, Ranger will walk the room. You will all have an earpiece to hear me. It will be loud in there so don't depend on the mike too much."

I handed Ranger the files on Uterway and his friends since he had to leave shortly. "Go over each of these files. One's for Uterway and the other are the three friends that will be with him tonight." We worked up files on all of them once we talked to Rachel and found out they were his best friends.

"Ace and Hal be at the club by 8:45. Lester and Bobby go in five minutes later. Lula and Tank will follow you after another five minutes. Once you are all in position Lula will send me a text message. As soon as Uterway arrives at 9:00, Lula will send another text message confirming his arrival. I'll be there ten minutes after he arrives. Ace and Hal watch Mike. Lester and Bobby watch Hugo. Lula and Tank will watch Tony. Ranger watch me since you'll be wandering, and I'll watch Uterway. Blend in guys. Dance with a fine ass woman or two, but watch the drinking. Drink soda if you can get away with it."

Ranger had Tank take him to the club right after we finished talking, and the guys started reading through the files. Lula sneaked off to get ready while I stuck around with the guys to answer any questions for a half hour before leaving them to get myself ready. I stepped into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Uterway was a money felon, so he wasn't going to fall for the over the top slut look. He was the sophisticated type, so I needed the sophisticated look. I played up my eyes making them stand out and shimmer a little. Of course I needed extra courage so I did three coats of mascara, and I used a soft berry color for my cheeks just to give me a slight flushed look. I didn't use the typical bright slut red on my lips either. Instead I went with a plum liner and berry lip color, with a clear gloss to complete the look. Surprisingly my hair actually looked pretty good already. I ran my fingers through it to get any snarls out and gave it a spray. Good thing my make-up and dress didn't scream big hair, because the curls were hanging in soft ringlets. No frizz tonight.

Lula came in just as I was finishing, decked out in a black spandex slinking curve-hugging dress that stopped mid-thigh. It was long sleeved, but only had a single shoulder strap. It was hot, and she was hot in it.

I walked everybody out and went back into my bedroom. I slipped into my silk black v-string, nude thigh-highs, and attached a thigh holster around mid thigh before slipping my HK P30 into place. I took the mike off the counter and taped it into place under my left breast, and then I slithered into my black strapless dress. It had a sweetheart neck line and molded to every curve on the top part of my body like second skin, stopping just past my knees. The bottom half of the dress was a little looser, so the thigh holster wasn't noticeable. This was very different from my typical distraction outfit, since usually I go with the shorter and tighter the better. I added silver accessories and four inch black fuck me pumps. I grabbed my little black purse and filled it with money, ID, lip gloss, and defense spray. I gave myself one last look in the mirror before grabbing my equipment bag and Ranger's keys to the Turbo and walked out the door.

I was five minutes from the club when Lula sent me the all in place message. I pulled into the club parking lot and waited. Two minutes later Lula sent me another message saying Uterway arrived with his full posse. I waited a few more minutes before I sashayed up to the doors passing the line on my right and went in. Ranger was standing at the top of the stairs next to the person taking the entrance fee and coat check. He looked mean and in complete control. He watched me as I walked up every step and as I handed the guy next to him ten dollars for my entrance fee. I stepped up to him and smiled.

"I need to search you Miss before you can go in," he said with a smirk.

I raised an eyebrow. "And just what do you think you're going to find?" His smirk turned to a full out smile and the guy next to him let out a long low whistle. I held my hands out and assumed the position for him to search me. He ran his hands up the outside of my legs, up my back, and back down my ribs. "Did you find anything?" He smiled after closing my purse.

"Nope clean as a whistle," he said. I nodded catching the double meaning and proceeded through the double doors into the club.

I looked to my left at the bathrooms, but there was no line and nobody coming out. I turned to my right and headed into the club walking slowly giving me time to assess the room and let Uterway see me. I scanned the room seeing Lula and Tank immediately to my right at a wall table. Lester and Bobby were at the floor table next to the DJ booth. Ace and Hal were at a floor table next to the emergency door, and Uterway was directly in front of me taking up the wall and floor tables on the other side of the DJ booth from Lester and Bobby. We locked eyes, and he gave me a full body scan. Damn the man was sexy. I gave him a little smile and turned to my right for the bar. The place was pretty bare, which gave me some hope that I could get him out quicker than expected. I got to the bar and caught Kelly's eye.

"What can get for you?" she asked me.

"A Manhattan please," I told her and mouthed 'make it weak'.

I turned away from the bar while she made the drink and looked around. Uterway was watching me, I could feel it. I looked around the room making eye contact with my entire team, and just before I turned back to the bar I locked eyes with Uterway again. After a second I turned back to the bar. She handed me the drink and told me it was on the house. I thanked her and turned back around to walk the room a little, but instead ran into my skip. That didn't take long.

"Hi my name's Ron," he said, holding out his hand to me. I shook his hand.

"Michelle. It's nice to meet you Ron," I said, my voice smooth.

"Would you like to join me at a table? I've been looking for a reason to lose my friends since I got here, and you're just the right size reason," Ron said with a sick little smile playing on his lips. Gag me with a spoon. I thought this guy was all suave and sophisticated. That was a horrible line. I looked at him closer. His eyes were watching my reaction to his line carefully. He was testing me.

"That wasn't the worst line I've ever heard, but it was pretty bad." I grinned, biting my lip. "I'm willing to give you another shot, though. My suggestion is that you leave your lines with the friends you're so desperate to lose." He held my eyes for a second and smiled.

"I'm very glad you came here tonight, Michelle." He nudged me in the direction between Lester and Lula. "Join me." I nodded and followed him to an empty floor table one down from Lester and Bobby.

We got to the table and made small talk. I continued to play the rich sophisticated woman and he was sucking it up. We danced a few songs and continued to talk for over an hour. I was losing my patience. I needed to get this guy out the door. Then like somebody was listening to my wishes the DJ played a song that just might get Uterway wanting to leave. I didn't know what the song was, I'd never heard it before, but it was hot. Some guy was rapping about having a fetish with fucking his girl when she had a skirt on.

"Dance with me?" I asked, giving him a sexy smile. He nodded, and I grabbed his hand leading him out onto the dance floor.

It was past time to turn the heat up. This song was perfect to get up close and grind. It was a good thing the guy was hot other wise I might not be able to get all freaky with him. Once we got out a little ways onto the dance floor, I wrapped my arms around his neck and grinded up against him. I slid down his body and back up making sure I had his undivided attention. I turned around pushing my butt into his groin and wrapped my arms around his neck again. We swayed together for a bit before I took his hands and ran them down both sides of my body stopping at my hips. I released his hands once I knew he would keep them there and bent forward at my waist pushing my ass further into his hardness. I locked eyes with Lula and her mouth dropped open. I bent my knees dropping down and pushed myself back up rubbing against him. I heard him mutter a curse word and smiled. He was hooked. Time to real him in. I spun around and locked my leg around his pulling us tight together.

"I've enjoyed talking with you tonight Ron, but I need to know if you're looking for a serious relationship." He shook his head no. "Good. Do you want to take a ride with me then?" He nodded yes. I grabbed his hand and walked back to the table so I could get my purse. We started walking to the door when Mike ran up to us.

"That's quite the little show you put on there," he told me running a finger down my bare arm. I shivered feeling that dinner Ranger and I ate finding its way back up.

"I don't believe I gave you permission to touch me," I said, my voice hard and cold.

"I guess Ron forgot to mention that we share anything he's about to walk out the door with, and you sweet thing I'm going to enjoy."

"Gee how nice for you, he does all the work and you take the trophy at the end."

"I'm not sharing this one Mike," Uterway said, looking at me. Oh sweet. Too bad I still wanted to puke.

"It doesn't work that way Ron and you know it. You owe me man," Mike said. He stepped up to me taking my elbow. "What's your name sweet thing?" Gag me. I discreetly looked at Lula and Tank and made a decision.

"It's okay. The plans changed. It'll be three of us going out instead," I said, while looking at Ron.

We walked past the coat check, down the stairs, and out the door before Mike stopped us. He swung me around by my arm and pushed me up against the wall face first. I brought my arm up just in time to keep my face from meeting the brick building. I grunted and before I had time to react he came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my neck and rubbed his dick up against my ass. He pushed my hair off to one side and licked up the back of my neck. It took everything I had not to puck. I could hear Ron yelling at him to stop, but he continued. He violently grabbed my left breast, and I whimpered. He laughed and that pissed me off. I heard Lula shout bond enforcement and for Ron to get down. That left me Mike. I clenched the muscles in my throat, neck, and jaw while I turned my head into the crook of his arm. I kicked back quickly taking out his knee then pushed my heel down the front of his leg stomping on his foot. He yelled out in pain, and I bit down as hard as I could on the crook of his arm. I quickly turned my hips out away from him and brought my elbow firmly to his gut. Then I slammed my fist into his groin and stepped forward bring my elbow up to his chin. He dropped like a lead weight after that.

I spun around and saw a huge cluster fuck of guns drawn on everybody. My entire team was outside as well as Uterway's crew plus Donnie the bouncer. Everybody was shouting to drop their gun and nobody was dropping anything. I reached under my dress and grabbed my gun. I looked at Lula's position and realized she could easily sneak in behind Uterway without being noticed if I distracted him. I looked around me and saw a decent sized rock. I picked it up and lobbed it at Uterway. I nailed him in the shoulder and he spun around aiming his gun at me instead. I smiled and raised my gun in return. I watched Lula move quicker than shit behind Uterway. He stiffened when cold metal touched his skin.

"Drop the gun fucker," Lula said, in an uncharacteristically low voice.

"Fuck you bitch. Drop yours or I'll blow this scammin bitch away," Uterway said, his eyes focused on me. I slid my eyes to Lula who had her gun steady on Uterway.

"You think you can get that shot off before I pull my trigger? I promise you I won't miss, can you be so certain?" Lula asked, and I saw his hand shake slightly before his finger came off the trigger. Lula reacted quickly putting her heel in the back of his knee and as he dropped she reached forward releasing the clip in his gun and then took his gun. I aimed mine down at Mike, who was still unconscious on the pavement. Lula aimed Uterway's gun at him and her own gun at a different friend. I looked up at the other three guys.

"Drop your guns or you're down two friends permanently," I said, narrowing my eyes. We wouldn't really do it, but they didn't know that. It only took them a second to realize they were out numbered by far and dropped their guns. "Kick them away." As soon as the guns were out of reach Tank stepped forward with his gun still aimed at them. He kicked their guns farther away and told them to get down. We got all five cuffed just as the police pulled in. I didn't know the cops, but they took our statements and hauled all the men in.

"That shit is why I trust you two," Les said, grinning. I rolled my eyes, but grinned anyway.

Ace came up to us shaking his head grinning. "I feel like I should pay you for tonight. Damn that was some serious badass shit you just did. I'll work with you anytime," he said, grinning like mad.

Lula and I high fived each other and did a happy dance. My pulse was still racing from the adrenaline-high big take-downs gave me. I felt like I drank a triple shot espresso. The job was over and it was time to call it a night. I knew once the adrenaline calmed I would be dead on my feet. We told the guys to go home and they would be paid on Monday. Ranger and I climbed in the Turbo and headed to the police station.

"You okay, Babe?" he asked me after a minute of driving in silence.

"Yeah. I might have a few bruises, but other wise I'm okay," I said, smiling at him.

"I enjoyed watching you kick his ass after seeing what he was doing to you."

"What did I miss while dealing with Mike?" I shifted in my seat slightly. I could tell it was difficult for Ranger to not jump in and rescue me right away. The fact that he didn't jump in, and let me take care of the situation, spoke highly of the amount of trust and respect he had for me.

"The other two guys figured out something was up when Lula and Tank got up to follow you out. Donnie joined them as they plowed out of the club. I guess he retrieved their guns for them, while I was still bouncing. The rest of us came out right behind the other two. I saw him grab you and Lula yelled at Uterway. When you took Mike out the cluster fuck of guns started. They didn't draw their guns until they saw Mike go down. That was a nice diversion with Uterway by the way." The corners of his lips tipped up a little.

"Thanks, but I was aiming for his head." He chuckled and we pulled into the station.

We got Uterway dealt with quickly and headed back to my apartment. It was after one o'clock in the morning by the time we got back. Ranger walked me up, gave me a bone melting kiss, and told me he would see me in the morning. I stopped in the kitchen for some water and gave Rex a grape. I'd been so busy the last few days I hadn't been a very good mommy.

"Hey Rex, so how do you like your new home?" He twitched his whiskers at me and ran back into his soup can. Why did I even bother?


	6. Chapter Five

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

Chapter Five

Sometimes in life a person just can't seem to win. Or in this case maybe I won and lost. Superficially it appears I won last night with my take-down, but as I stood in my bathroom at six o'clock in the morning staring at my bruised and battered body I was inclined to believe I really lost. How did I miss all the scrapes, brick burns, and bruises last night? That adrenaline high must have been a lot higher than I originally thought. I didn't even feel the pain.

I took out the first aid kit and cleaned up my left arm, lathering it in ointment and wrapping it with gauze. I looked like a burn victim, but there were just too many scrapes, burns, and bruises to doctor individually. My memory must be a little fuzzy because I didn't remember hitting the brick wall that hard last night. Then again I didn't remember when I got the large hickey adorning the left side of my neck either.

Angry tears well up in my eyes, blurring my vision as I remembered Mike's hot whiskey breath while he licked up my neck to my ear. His laugh was so evil, so menacing. Hot tears rolled down my cheeks running off my chin. I wiped at them furiously. I looked down at my left breast. Five perfect finger prints and one extremely ugly ring mark. I started shaking feeling so ashamed that I allowed myself to get violated. I felt so pathetic, weak, used. I closed my eyes while taking a deep breath and then swallowed hard trying to keep the bile from swimming up my esophagus. My stomach lurched and I turned quickly, running to the toilet, barely getting the lid open before violently getting sick. Tears streamed down my face mixing with the snot running from my nose. Vomiting ranked right up there with getting your eyebrows waxed, hurt like a bitch when it came out. At least with waxed eyebrows your chances of looking like Bert were reduced, but with vomit all you ended up with was bad breath, chunks in your teeth, and a sore throat. I rested my head on my arms across the toilet seat shaking and sobbing.

Gentle hands swept my hair up into a lose ponytail and flushed the toilet where my puck sat sinking up my air space. I knew it was Ranger and I could hear his deep voice softly talking to me, but I couldn't comprehend what he was saying. I felt a cold cloth on my neck where that nasty mark was. My stomach churned again just thinking about that sick bastard's mouth on me. A sob raked through my body as I slid to the floor curling into a ball. My knee hit my breast, and I groaned in pain as I uncurled my body, laying flat on my back with my arms over my eyes. I heard a harsh intake of air.

"Jesus, Babe. That bastard did this to you."

"Maybe Joe's right. Eight weeks really isn't enough time to think I can go after more dangerous skips. I'm not trained enough, not good enough. I didn't react fast enough to keep myself safe. I did this to myself, and I feel so dirty." Sadness filling my heart and my chest constricted painfully.

Ranger tenderly removed my arms from over my eyes and cleaned my face up with a washcloth. He picked me up and placed me on the counter between the two bathroom sinks. My bare butt hit the cold counter top, and I squealed in shock. Ranger chuckled, handing me my toothbrush after putting toothpaste on it and started applying Vitamin K to my bruises. I looked down watching his progress while brushing my teeth, and realized I was only wearing the black v-string from last night. Living in Jersey meant everybody had the right to embarrass themselves periodically without any judgment from others. Plus what most people would find embarrassing happened to me daily, so basically I didn't embarrass easily. However, here I sat in a v-string while Ranger cleaned me up. I felt the heat run up my body to my face and all I could do was squeeze my eyes shut and pray Ranger didn't think I'd completely lost all touch on reality. Ranger chuckled again and took my toothbrush. I opened my eyes just as Ranger's lips met mine giving me a lingering kiss.

"I don't ever want to hear you say Morelli was right again. You're good at your job, Steph. Five of my men trust you with their lives, and I do, too. Don't doubt yourself. You've worked hard to get to where you are. You have every right to be angry for what happened, but by no means was it your fault. You did protect yourself and your entire team. You and Lula reacted fast and made sure everybody was safe and the bad guys went to jail."

"You're right, I'm sorry. Let me get ready and we'll get out of here. I need to work off this anger." I gave him a kiss on the mouth and jumped off the counter.

Twenty minutes later we were at the park joining Lula and Tank. We ran in silence, which I appreciated. I really needed time to think. Why didn't our digging on Mike and Ron pull up the sharing issue? Why didn't Rachel tell me about it? I guess it didn't really matter now. We obviously missed something that could have possibly prepared us better for last night. Then again maybe Mike and Ron were more discreet usually. Ron didn't plan on sharing me last night, so maybe Rachel didn't know about their extracurricular activities. Maybe we didn't miss anything at all because there was no way of knowing. A lot of maybes, and I was beginning to bash my head about something that was over. The bad guys went to jail and everybody made it home safely. I had some cosmetic injuries and a little insecurity, but I was safe.

"Better?" Ranger asked, once we were back by the cars.

"Yeah, I'm better. Thanks for this morning," I said, smiling and gave him a little kiss.

"We starting on Pacton today?" Lula asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Let's meet at the gun range and then head back to my place to start on the file."

Ranger and I went straight back at my apartment. I wondered what Ranger had planned for the day. It was weird that he hadn't worked since showing up at my apartment Friday. His cell hadn't rang. His pager hadn't beeped. He hadn't disappeared like smoke. I walked in the kitchen and tapped on Rex's tank. He was stuffed in his soup can and not acknowledging me in any way. He just went to bed not to long ago, so disturbing him now was slightly rude of me. I wondered what it said about me that I had a nocturnal small pet. His schedule was pretty much completely opposite of mine and he didn't really like me if I thought about it. Every time I picked him up he bit me. I dropped a small chunk of carrot in for him as a treat and left the kitchen heading for the shower. Ranger was already in the bathroom, stripped down to his sweatpants, adjusting the water temp. I leaned against the door frame watching him.

"You're staring, Babe," he said, laughing.

"Nope." He turned around, eyebrow raised, giving me a yummy view of his front. "I'm enjoying the view. That's very different from staring," I said, grinning.

He crooked his finger at me in a come hither motion. The last time Ranger crooked his finger at me I locked myself in his dressing room with only his robe on. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down to meet my mouth. I brushed my lips softly against his teasing him a little before running my tongue across his bottom lip. Ranger quickly took over the kiss plunging his tongue into my mouth. I moved my hands down his torso, brushing his nipples and each ripple of his abs. Ranger had both hands fisted in my hair kissing me hungrily. I ran my hands down the front of his hips grazing his rapidly growing manhood. He froze mid kiss pulling me in tight against him.

"You want me?" I whispered against his lips.

"Always," he whispered back.

"But we don't have time, right." I kissed along his jaw and wrapping a hand firmly around his pulsing erection through his pants. He moaned tightening his grip on me. I smiled against his neck. He just didn't get it. I was a starving woman. We had all the time in the world for making love. Right now I wanted it fast and hard. "I though you were an opportunist." I sucked his left nipple into my mouth.

"Christ," he said, the word coming out as a gasp. He released his hold on me and pulled me up, capturing my mouth with hungry urgency. He made quick work of our clothes, and just as he picked me up to take us to the shower his cell started ringing. He groaned and picked up his cell without releasing me.

"Yo." His jaw was tight and he locked eyes with me. "Be there in thirty," he said and disconnected. He released my legs allowing my naked body to slide down his. His lips dropped to mine delivering a long, drugging kiss. He backed me up until I was fully under the warm water, while continuing to passionately kiss me, his tongue dancing with mine. We separated long enough for him to grab the shower supplies needed and he went to work washing us from head to toe.

Ten torturous minutes later, we shut the water off and got out. I dried off quickly and got ready to go. I wasn't feeling particularly motivated to leave my apartment or Ranger's arms for that matter, but we both had places to go. And I'd spent too much time and energy getting to where I was to blow off the gun range.

"You working all day today, Babe?" Ranger asked, while snaking his arms around me from behind.

I leaned into him a little, loving the closeness. I didn't know what was going to happen with us, but for the first time in my life I didn't really care.

"I don't know. I guess it depends on how things go with the skip. We haven't worked the file at all yet," I said, pulling out of his arms slightly to finish packing my equipment bag.

He tightened his arms around me, pulling me back to him and kissed me on the neck. "I'm sorry about the phone call."

I tipped my head giving him better access. "You don't need to apologize. I know what the hours are like with my work, so I definitely understand about the phone call. It could just as easily been mine that rang. There's always another time."

He brushed his lips softly over mine. "If you're ready to go, I'll walk you out."

I walked into the Marksman's Pistol Institution right at nine o'clock after driving there on autopilot. Wayne, the Range Officer of the day was standing post at the security check point. I sat my equipment bag on the table and pulled my 10mm out of my back holster and sat it next to my bag. Wayne's job was to inspect that all guns and ammunition entering the range were clean, workable, safe, and unloaded. He placed my gun in a tray with its clip sitting next to. I grabbed my bag and tray and proceeded through the range door and then on into the drill area.

Lula was getting ready in lane six. I walked past her to lane seven and dropped my bag on the shelf. I unzipped my equipment bag and got out my handgun carrier, ammunition case, and extra magazines. We were doing a dot drills today. I grabbed a stack of target dots, clipped one on the carrier, and sent it out to the three yard mark while I slipped on my eye protection and ear protection and stepped up to the firing line.

The drill consisted of ten different dot targets. The first one was to draw and fire a string of five rounds for the best grouping. The second I drew, fired one round and holstered, and then repeated four more times. The third and fourth was multiple target practice – draw, one shot to each target, and holster, repeating four more times. The fifth was strong hand only, fire of five rounds. The sixth and seventh was a multiple double tap target five times. The eighth was weak hand only, fire of five rounds. The ninth and tenth was multiple target one shot and speed reload practice.

An hour later we picked up our equipment bags and headed for my apartment, arriving fifteen minutes later. I put my bag in the closet and my gun on the kitchen counter, while Lula got the lap top set up on the dinning room table. I checked on Rex, grabbed the cordless phone and Quincy Pacton's file, and joined Lula.

"So?" she asked, as she booted up the lap top.

"So," I said back.

"Tank got called, so I'm assuming Ranger did too."

"Yeah." I flipped open Pacton's file Connie gave us.

"Huh. Judging by the frown I'd say the phone interrupted something good."

"You could say that."

"It's going to be hard working this file on a Sunday, so let's do the stuff for RangeMan. That letter Batman wanted," Lula said.

"Sure," I said, laying my head on my arms.

"Uh huh. I guess that means I'm typing huh." She narrowed her eyes at me. I smiled.

She started typing, and I watched her progress from my position on my arms. I made a few suggestions every now and then, but after ten minutes of watching her progress I was bored. I sat up and started working on Pacton's file.

Quincy William Pacton born March 2, 1981. No known aliases. Lived at 312 Lalor Street apartment C302. Had a home number and a valid driver's license. He did the maintenance for Adam and Eve Spa. Interesting. I picked up the phone and called the number.

"Adam and Eve how may I help you?" a woman said, her voice pleasant.

"May I speak to the owner or manager please?" I asked.

"May I ask what this is in regards to?" she asked, hesitating a bit.

"In regards to an employee," I said.

"One moment please," she said after a brief pauses. One would think the place never got calls regarding their employees.

"This is Carol. I'm the owner. How may I help you?" She sounded nice enough. Hopefully she was helpful too.

"My name is Stephanie Plum. I'm calling about Quincy Pacton. Is he still an employee of yours?" I asked with my fingers crossed.

"What is this regarding?" she asked, her voice short and stern.

"I represent Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. We recently posted bail for Mr. Pacton, and he missed his court date. My partner and I need to assist him in getting it rescheduled. He has Adam and Eve down as his place of employment. Is this correct?" I asked again.

"Yes he works here. I wasn't aware he had been arrested. He's not dangerous is he?"

"No he's not dangerous." To people anyway. "Would you be willing to give me his work schedule?"

"He's here now," she said, and I gave Lula the wrap it up signal as I shot up to get all my stuff.

"And how long is he working today?" I asked, while slipping my holstered 10mm into the small of my back.

She informed me he would be there for two hours before leaving for his lunch. Lula and I left in her car and headed for Clinton Avenue. We arrived twelve minutes later and parked in front of the spa. Going in this spa loaded down with a full utility belt would be bad. I really didn't need calls from my mother today. It was bad enough I missed donuts after church. We each grabbed some cuffs and stuffed them in our back pockets and got out of the car. Lula came around to my side and we played our game. Lula won. We walked in the door to the spa. The woman sitting behind the desk to greet us stood as we walked in. She was very tall with a voluptuous build. She had cream colored skin, big brown eyes, wavy medium length dark blond hair, and thin lips. She smiled at us with bright white teeth.

"How can I help you ladies?" she said, her voice dripping with so much sweetness I just might need to make a dentist appointment.

"Girl you can help by getting Carol out here ASAP," Lula said, exasperated. I grinned at Lula's performance. She was in her element.

Lula leaned into the rounded wood counter further placing her hands just in front of the sugary greeting blond. "Do you see these nails? Why are you even asking what I need help with? They're a mess. I can't have nails that look like this. I need Carol now," she said, merging into full rhino mode.

"Oh dear, it will be okay. I'll get Carol. You just hang on a second. She can fix anything. You know that," she said, rushing around the corner.

I started giggling which I promptly covered with my hand. Lula rocked back on her heels grinning widely at me. Carol came rushing around the corner a second later, but stopped abruptly when she saw us. She didn't know either of us and her confusion was evident in her expression. She was expecting a regular customer in desperate need of her expertise, but instead she faced two women she didn't even recognize. Lula stepped forward, and I followed keeping watch over our surroundings. She leaned in real close to Carol and talked in a hushed voice. Carol looked over at me, and I gave her a reassuring smile before I went back to scanning the area.

There was a fountain just to the left of us. Water was trickling out making the reception area very inviting and relaxing. Bright green plants decorated the fountain edge adding to the entire ambiance. There were wood shelving structures throughout the area holding items available for purchase. The walls were dark cream and the lighting was low. I was having trouble envisioning Quincy Pacton, puppy assassin, working in such an inviting peaceful place.

Lula turned to me nodding toward the door. I followed her out and leaned against the passenger side of the car.

"Carol is going to have Pacton come outside in a moment to deal with a light out in the store sign," she said to me.

I nodded and moved to position myself next to the front door. Lula stayed leaning against the car in direct line of the entrance door he would exit. Just as I flattened myself against the side of the building the door opened exposing Quincy Pacton. He walked out paying no attention to Lula or me as he began inspecting the sign. All the lights were working just fine. He scratched his head looking around with his wide green eyes, curiously. Lula watched him with amusement for a few seconds before approaching him. He was just a kid. Baggy clothes and messy straight brown hair framing his baby face.

"Quincy Pacton," Lula said. He turned looking at her leaving his back to me. I stepped forward blocking the spa door. "I represent Vincent Plum Bail Bonds and you missed your court date violating your bond agreement. I need you to raise your hands where I can see them and lace your fingers behind your head," she said, stepping toward him slowly.

He took a step back keeping his distance from her. "I had to work. I didn't want anybody knowing I'd been arrested," he said, his voice shaking slightly.

"You should have called and rescheduled. There's nothing we can do about it now. You have to go to the station. Raise your hands where I can see them, Pacton. I won't ask you again." She put her hand to the small of her back.

"I'm not going to the police station. I'm working right now." He backed up again putting him a foot away from me. He still didn't have a clue I was behind him. His entire focus was on Lula.

"You are going, and you're off work as of five minutes ago when you were sent out here. Now we can do this one of two ways. You can go nicely by doing as I say, or you can fight me and I force you to go. It's your choice what will it be?" Lula brought both her hands out for Pacton to see. She had cuffs in one hand and her .45 in the other. Pacton's knees buckled slightly and he reached behind him to steady himself. Only instead of wall he found my arm. He jerked around looking at me, and I smiled giving him a little finger wave. Why would this kid destroy his life to get rid of some puppies? Why didn't he just take them to an animal shelter or pet store?

"What's it going to be, Quincy?" I asked, keeping my voice quiet. He was looking desperate. His eyes were wide and looking every direction. "Don't even think about running. We already ran five miles this morning and we aren't looking to run more just to catch your animal abusing ass. We'll just shoot you and drag your ass back to the car."

He took a deep breath and his shoulders dropped in defeat. He raised his hands and laced his fingers together behind his head. Since he was right in front of me I cuffed him and Lula patted him down looking for any weapons. We put him in the backseat of the Firebird and drove a few blocks down Clinton Avenue to the police station.

"You two have been busy this weekend. This is your third skip in two days," Jimmy Neeley said, from behind the desk at the station. We smiled at him and Lula took the body receipt. Ten minutes later we were sitting inside Burger King eating our meals.

"You going to tell me what's going on with you and Ranger? You look happy but at the same time I can see something is wrong," Lula said, between stuffing fries in her mouth.

I sighed. I knew there was no avoiding this for too long. Lula was like a pit bull trying to reach the bone dangling in front of her face when it came to gossip. And gossip regarding Ranger and I was the juiciest. "Nothing's really wrong. I just hate our jobs sometimes. It puts a damper on my sex life. And my sex life is in desperate need of some sex."

"I hear you. I want to break Tank's phone at times. But then when it's not his phone causing the interruptions it's mine."

"Uh huh. But have you ever been completely naked, legs wrapped around his waist, and about ready to go at it fast and hard in the shower when the damn phone rang?" I asked, and took a drink of my Coke.

Lula snorted and spit soda out her nose and mouth. She was laughing and choking all at the same time. "Shit I'm surprised you didn't shoot the damn phone."

"My gun was out of reach."

She continued laughing as we cleaned up our mess, got back in the car, and went back to my apartment to finish the letter for Ranger. We also put together a file with information on our remaining two skips, and called it a day. The weekend was fairly draining, and I knew I needed a nap. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me, and that was when accidents happen.

I popped up some popcorn and put Ghostbusters in the DVD player. I was out like a light ten minutes into the movie. Next thing I knew I was falling off the couch when my cell started ringing. I reached up, from my spot on the floor and grabbed it off the coffee table.

"Yo," I said, yawning.

"Did I wake you, Babe?" Ranger asked, with a slight chuckle.

"I fell off the couch." I got off the floor and flopped back on the couch.

"Are you okay?"

"No permanent damage," I said, yawning again.

"Good to know. You too tired to join me for dinner?"

"Do I have to drive?" My eyes closed again as I tried my damnedest to stay awake.

"Nope, just got to your apartment. You want me to come up?"

"No way. If you come up here we won't be leaving, and I'm actually hungry," I said, jumping up off the couch, grabbing my gun and pocket book, before running out the door.

I slid into Ranger's Porsche Turbo a minute later, and was greeted with a hard kiss and lots of tongue.

"What do you feel like?" he asked and his cell rang.

We hadn't even left the parking lot and dinner was already a no go. I should be use to this anyway. Joe was always getting paged or called. Hell if this morning would have happened with Joe he would have told me, "I gotta go, Cupcake. I'll call you later." And he would have given my hair a tug leaving me very naked and very cranky.

Ranger hung up his cell and looked at me, his eyes soft. "This is why my lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships."

"Uh huh, any other excuses," I said back with a smirk. I got his 200-watt smile as he hauled me across the center console and kissed the daylights out of me. I felt my toes curl, and I grabbed onto his shirt holding him close to me. He pulled back, and I smoothed out his shirt, getting rid of the two fist marks.

"You're really okay with the interruptions?" he asked.

"No I'm not okay with them. I want to shoot your phone. I understand them, though. Work is important. It was just dinner. We can try it again another night," I said, smiling. I think it was a smile. It felt kind of shaky.

"Stephanie, it was more than _just_ dinner. I hope you know that."

I leaned in again kissing him softly. "The fact that you know it was more than _just_ dinner means a lot to me. I'm going to make a sandwich, take a long hot bath, and go back to bed now, so give me kiss and get out of here."

He looked at me for a few minutes, tucking a curl behind my ear before kissing me softly. I reluctantly got out of the car and briefly debated with myself on whether I should shoot a tire or not. I was startled out of my debate by Ranger laughing. I guess I gave myself away by staring at the front tire with my hand on my gun. I rolled my eyes muttered a 'fine' and went back up to my apartment.


	7. Chapter Six

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Six**

My fun filled night of no sex and no dinner date, led to ten hours of sleep and waking up to a Ranger free bed along with this gloom that surrounded my apartment complex, appropriately going with my mood. The only nice thing about the crappy weather was that it rained last night making all things alive and green smell fresh and the air sweet. The other nice thing about the weather was it forgot it was late October and the temperature felt much more like spring than fall. It was in the sixties which, for late October was actually fairly warm, but not completely weird. Not even the sun rising after twenty-two minutes into our run was the weird part of the morning. No the weird occurrence of the morning belonged to the piece of paper stuck under my windshield wiper blade. Lula and I just finished running and were standing about fifteen feet from our cars. When we noticed the paper, I think we both instantly took two steps back. Just when I thought life might go my way I get another psycho. And he left me a note; how original.

"We don't know what that says. It might not be what we think. Somebody might have just sideswiped your car and left you a note with their insurance information," Lula said.

I didn't know if she was trying harder to convince me or herself. She was right though, but given my track record it was safer to assume it was another psycho. I grabbed my cell off my hip and speed dialed Ranger's cell.

"Yo," he answered after one ring.

"You busy?" I asked, with a strained voice.

"Not for you."

"I've ran into a problem. I'm not entirely sure it's a problem, but from where I'm standing and with my track record I've decided I'm treating it like a problem. So given it's a problem, and given I've vowed to every person important to me that I'm very serious about my safety, I felt it would be a good idea to call you."

"And the problem is?" His voice was now serious.

"The note positioned under my windshield wiper blade."

"And the note says?" I heard a motor catch on his end.

"I haven't approached my car since we saw the note. I didn't think that bonded well with staying safe. It could be something completely innocent, but …"

"It's the 'but' that has me worried. I'm on my way, Babe."

"Good. I think I should call Morelli."

"I think you should, too. I'll see you in ten, Steph." And he disconnected.

I let out a long slow breath I didn't even know I was holding until I felt faint. I looked at Lula again and she had a grim expression while staring at the car. I dialed Morelli's house and he answered after two rings.

"Yeah."

"Hi. Did I get you at a bad time?" I asked, while biting my bottom lip. I needed him, but I didn't want to listen to the lecture I was bound to get once I explained why I was calling.

"Not at all, Cupcake. I was just on my way out the door, but I got a minute," he said.

"I've run into a small problem that I need your help with, but I don't want this getting out. Just you and Eddie. Could you pick him up and meet me at Cadwalader Park. I'm parked on North Lenape Avenue, but don't park too close to my car."

"Don't park too close to your car? Jesus, Stephanie. What have you gotten yourself into now?"

"Not sure, but the note on my car window is the problem."

"Do I want to know what the note says?"

"I haven't looked at it. In fact I haven't so much as got within ten feet of the car," I said, taking another step back. I wasn't in the mood to get shot at or blown up this morning. As it was we were going to miss defense training. I mouthed to Lula to call Tanner and then went back to my conversation with Joe.

"You? Miss curious about everything? Get herself into trouble with every turn because she can't stay out of stuff, hasn't read the note yet?" Joe asked, amused.

"I value my safety thank you very much."

"If you say so, Cupcake. I'm guessing you already called Ranger, so I'll see you in twenty minutes," he said and hung up.

"Tanner said they're free until noon so if we can get there before ten, we can still do our training," Lula said, as I snapped my cell back on my hip.

After a few minutes of quietly observing our surroundings we saw two, black Ford Explorers and a black GMC Sonoma park just down the street from our cars. Ranger and Tank got out of the Sonoma and Bobby, Eddie, Lester, and Karl filed out of the Explorers. I groaned and looked away.

"The cavalry arrived. Oh and looky there they brought the woman hater," Lula said, amused.

The woman hater would be Eddie. He stood at 5'10" with droopy blue eyes, and wears his thick, curly, red hair at mid neck length. His skin was china-white, he had predominate ears, and his lower lip was slightly fuller than his top lip. He still possessed the muscles like all RangeMan employees, since I was sure it was a prerequisite to getting hired there, but his overall appearance just didn't add up to the other guys. But, I could be biased since I thought he was an ass and had an ugly attitude. He wasn't really a woman hater, either. His views on how a woman should act, and what a woman should do during her day was quite sexist, but he didn't hate women.

"Is this really necessary, Ranger? I don't even know what the note says. It could very easily be an apology for sideswiping my car," I said with annoyance.

"Do you think your car was sideswiped?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but the point is it could be completely innocent." I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Steph, something is off. You know it, that's why you haven't approached the car and that's why you called. Trust yourself," he said, his voice soft before directing his attention to his men. "Guys spread out and start asking questions. Somebody in this park saw something. Find them." The guys all took off looking for anybody with information and Lula, Tank, Ranger, and me stood staring at the car.

Ranger and Tank got a little closer, after a few minutes of looking around, and took a look at the underside of the car. I assumed they were looking for explosive devises, but one never really knew with Ranger. Morelli showed up as the guys were getting off the ground and dusting off. He was wearing his cop face, and I was cringing.

"So?" he asked.

"Ranger has four of his men canvassing the area looking for anybody that might have seen something. I still haven't approached the car and Ranger and Tank were just looking at it a little closer," I said.

Ranger came up behind me and placed a hand on the small of my back. I saw Joe's jaw muscles ripple with strained effort.

"We couldn't see anything unusual from the distance we were at, but that doesn't mean anything," Ranger said, while stroking my back gently. I knew he was trying to reassure me, comfort me, and be supportive, but he was giving Joe's jaw quite the workout. His hand froze when he shifted his eyes to Joe, but he didn't remove it. Ah a compromise of sorts. At least he realized.

"You're not getting anywhere near that car until I've called in a bomb squad to make sure it's safe for you," Joe said, his attitude leaving no room for discussion while his eyes stayed fixed on Ranger. Oh no he didn't just tell me what I could and could not do? The rest of the guys got back and froze when Joe made his announcement. I saw Bobby and Lester take a step back, and I was itching to have a serious Italian showdown.

"You want to rephrase that statement Morelli?" I said, keeping my voice calm even if I was steaming on the inside.

"Nope. I meant what I said, Steph."

He started to unclip his cell when I spoke. "You touch that phone and it will have a bullet hole in it." My nostrils flared. "I asked you here because I wanted to keep this quiet. I'm not the laughing stock of the police station anymore. Their entertainment has moved on. I will not allow you to make me their entertainment again. Nor will I allow you to assume you get or have the right to dictate my movements and my decisions."

"Come on, Steph, be reasonable. I know how you feel, but this is serious. Your life is possibly at stake for Christ's sake," Eddie said, jumping in to defend Morelli's actions.

"_MY LIFE,_ Eddie. It's my life, so I get the final say. I have all the help I need here. You will not call the bomb squad," I told the two men.

"Manoso talk some sense into your …" And there it sat. Your what? Okay there went my comfort level. I needed to get control back.

"Ranger does not own me, nor would he be stupid enough to tell me what to do. You've said repeatedly that you're not stupid enough to wave a red flag in my face, but you just did. We don't even know how much of a threat the damn note is. I will not let you call in a bomb squad and make me look like a paranoid moron. I was just … Fuck." I stalked off to my car stopping a few feet away.

Ranger followed me after a second and stood next to me staring at my car. I did a complete circle looking at everything around me. I didn't see anybody, but I could feel eyes. Eyes that didn't belong to the eight people staring at me from five to ten feet away. No, these eyes were watching me, watching what I was doing. I could feel them the moment we saw the note. I asked Ranger for gloves since mine were in my car. Ranger held my eyes, and I looked at him telling him to trust me. He handed me the gloves after a few seconds of internal battle, and I grabbed the note. We both unconsciously took several steps back after the note was in my hands. I looked up and noticed all the RangeMan guys and Lula had the guns drawn and were fanned out guarding Ranger and I. I was shaking all over except my hands. They were unnaturally calm, holding the note perfectly still. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened the note. I opened one eye then the other and stared at the one word written in black on the plain white paper. What the? Oh I was pissed. I looked at Ranger and he was looking around with his gun in his hands. I stalked off toward Joe and Eddie. I shoved the paper into Morelli's hands.

"Dust it for prints, though I don't think you'll find any," I said, my chest heaving, and I was shaking I was so mad.

Joe opened the note back up and clenched his jaw.

"I don't get it, Steph. All it says is 'Stephanie'," Eddie said, bewildered.

"He's watching and wanted to see what seeing the note would do. He wanted to scare her. Turn her into a paranoid moron. The bomb squad would have accomplished just that. But, when it comes to notes, bombs and psychos seem to follow them. I wanted to protect you. That's what somebody does when they love you. They don't let you walk right up to the possible threat and get hurt or killed," he said, diverting his eyes to Ranger standing a few feet behind me talking with his guys. He stopped talking at Joe's comment.

I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Love is about trust not dominance," I said. I opened my eyes and Joe was staring at me. Eddie moved away from us at some point. Joe stepped closer to me touching my cheek softly. The man drives me nuts. He oozes sex appeal, and I was sex starved.

"I told you before if I can't have you, he's not the kind of man I want you with. He's dangerous, Stephanie. I'm pretty sure he kills people," he said, so only I could hear him. And there went the hormone overload. Killed, squashed, mutilated.

"And as I said before, what's between me and Ranger is our business, not yours. Do you think you could dust my car as well? I need to talk to the guys about what they learned while walking the park," I said, loud enough for everybody to hear while walking backward out of Joe's reach.

Two women walked up to our group just as I reached Les's side. "Do any of you know the owner of the black and white car over there?" one of them asked while pointing at my car.

"It's mine. Can I help you with something?" I asked, giving her a soft smile.

"I just wanted to let you know I saw the person put the note on your car," she said.

The woman was tall, maybe 5'8", with an Amazonian build. Her skin was cream-colored. Her eyes were almond shaped and the color of blueberries. She wore her wavy yellow hair cascading down her back, but I think it was the risque clothes adorning her body that had most of my attention along with they guys' as well.

I smiled at her reassuringly. "My name's Stephanie Plum. Can you tell me about what you saw?"

"I'm Sarah Sutherland. I couldn't see whether the person was male or female from where I was standing, but my instincts tell me the person was male. It was the walk, a strut really. A cocky, I'm the shit strut. He was in all black with a hood and gloves. He walked toward your car from Edgewood Avenue. He approached it and slipped a piece of paper under your wiper blade and turned around going back down Edgewood Avenue. He walked a block, taking the left on North Eastfield Avenue."

"Thank you, you've been very helpful. Do you remember anything about his body structure and height? Think about anything he walked past that you could compare his height to."

"He was fairly tall, but not over six feet, and he had a broad-shoulder, athletic build. I mean even in clothes you can tell when a man is well built," she said, looking around at the RangeMan guys. I had to smile. If she only knew what one of them looked like naked.

I turned and looked at Ranger asking him for one of his business cards, but Les handed me my own he had in his wallet. I handed the woman my business card. "I really appreciate this. If you can think of anything else please call me."

She took my card and the two women left leaving us all to watch them walk away. She wasn't a striking woman, but she was attractive. My thoughts were that her clothing choice was to draw the attention her general looks didn't get her. She seemed trusting, and she gave us an area to start looking. Maybe somebody else saw this man in black.

Bobby, Eddie, Lester, and Karl left taking opposite ends of the two streets to start questioning residents. Joe and Eddie left after finishing my car and said they would call later with the results of the fingerprint match. Ranger and Tank left for a meeting, and Lula and I went to the gym.

"He's watching me I can feel it," I said to Lula as we walked across the parking lot at the gym. "When I read that note, I felt the blood drain from my face. It freaked me out and it was just my name. I know that's what he wanted, but it really creeped me out."

"Yeah you got real white when you opened your eyes. Ranger didn't look too happy, either. I gotta admit one word shouldn't be so creepy, but it really just felt creepy," Lula said.

"Glad to see your car didn't explode," Tanner said when we walked into the gym.

Smart ass. We sat our stuff down, slipped out of our shoes, and proceeded out to the mat.

"Chest, back, and abs, today. Let's get warmed up," Tanner said.

By the time thirty minutes was up, I was feeling like Gumby and really happy when we started on our ab workout. I'd have done anything to keep from doing one more push-up or pull-up. We'd done back exercises and we'd done chest as well, but never in the same workout. We rotated between push-ups and pull-ups and threw in a few dumbbell lifts, too. I knew I was stronger, since I could bust out twenty standard push-ups like it was nothing, but doing twenty each of six different kinds of push-ups was pushing my limits. And then adding nine each of three different pull-ups was past my limits.

"Alright, ladies, have a seat," Tanner said. "Well you made it through eight full weeks. I know it was a rough. But, you're getting stronger every week. This week we're working on more take-down moves and holds. Today we'll work on sweeps and throws."

I groaned. "I'm not gonna be able to put my shoes back on, let alone drive my freaking car when we're done. My arms can't take any more."

Tanner and James both chuckled.

Lula and I got to our cars an hour and fifteen minutes later. It took us fifteen minutes to tie our shoes and pick up our equipment bags. I felt like the first day of training again. My entire body hurt. The training wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but that was only because I was too focused to really feel the exhaustion in my muscles. I wasn't too focused now. And exhaustion was putting it mildly. Luckily we both got texts from our weapons trainers telling us training was canceled for the week. I didn't think I would be able to hold my gun properly, let alone shoot it.

I got out of the shower after fifteen minutes of a hot water massage and started getting ready when I heard rain on my window. "Well shit no point in doing my hair," I muttered aloud while getting dressed. I brushed my hair into a pony tail, slicked my eyelashes with a few coats of waterproof mascara, added some lip gloss, put on my boots, and completed the look with a black hat. I was on my way out the door when my cell rang.

"Yo," I said, smiling.

"Yo yourself," Ranger said, amused. "Bobby found a guy who was drooling over a white Nissan 350Z, and your man in black hopped in the passenger seat. The car had smoked out windows so he couldn't tell us about the driver."

"And you know all about this car right?" I asked.

"The car was introduced in August of 2002, so it's new. However, it's also the most popular car as of right now," he said.

"I'll call Eddie and see what came of the finger prints and ask him to run a search on all white Nissan 350Zs in the area. The smoked out windows thing could really help," I said, while walking out my door.

"Feel free to use my computer to run any searches on people. And call me if you need anything," he said and disconnected.

I called Eddie once I was in my car. The prints didn't turn up anybody new and he said he'd get back to me with the result from the car search. I picked up Lula and we went to the office. It was close to noon by the time we got there. Connie was stationed behind her desk supervising the drying of her nail polish. Her nails were blood red, matching her lips and sweater. Her eyes jumped up when we entered and immediately went back to her nails.

"You two are having a late start," she said, shifting a file to the edge of the desk.

"Steph here got herself a new stalker, so we were detained a little bit this morning," Lula said, grabbing the file.

"Huh, well it was a bit too quiet for the last few months," she said, fanning her nails. "Please tell me you two got Uterway." I smiled and handed her the body receipts for Uterway and Pacton. "Holly Toledo," she said, jumping up.

Vinnie stuck his head out of his office doorway. "What the hell is all the noise about?" the weasel asked.

Vinnie was the owner of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, and my weasel of a cousin. He's pond scum, but makes an excellent bail bonds man because he understands human nature.

"Steph and Lula have brought in Williams, Yingler, Uterway, and Pacton since Friday. That's $231,500.00 in bonds," she said, grinning.

"About time you two started working," Vinnie said, slamming his office door and received three middle fingers.

"For Uterway it's $4,500.00 to each of us, $400.00 to RangeMan, and four $900.00 checks. Leave the pay to line blank, they can fill that in since I don't know Hal's last name or what Ace's real name is. For your records the checks are for Lester, Bobby, Ace, and Hal. They helped with Uterway's take-down," I said, grabbing the phone book to look up a courier service. I ordered a pick up at the bond office and a delivery to RangeMan. I slipped the letter Ranger requested in an envelop and left it with Connie to add the checks before giving it to the pickup guy.

"Where's Melvin?" Lula asked from the couch.

Melvin Pickle was the new file clerk since I got him a job when he was my FTA. He got caught with his pants down at the multiplex after he was forced to move back in with his mother at the age of forty because he lost his job and wife. He was working at a shoe store when I got him. He turned desperate and threatened to jump off the mall roof, so I got him a job at the office and worked a deal with Morelli to get him off light for jerking off in public. It all turned out good. Melvin really found his knack. He was a filing machine.

"Lunch," Connie said, while writing out checks.

"What's the file?" I asked.

"Douglas Emery. 64-year-old, 5'6", white male. He's a repeat offender that skipped on stalking charges," Connie said.

"Huh, what's the bond? Is he too much for Joyce? I'm not really up for tracking down a stalker. I'm already doing that," I said, with a huff throwing myself down on the couch.

"$125,000.00 and Joyce is over booked as it is. She has two that are coming to an end in the next few days and if she can't get them you two need to. Vinnie gave her 24 hours to nab them before he's handing the file over to you."

Terrific!

Eddie called back interrupting my sulking to tell me the list of Nissan 350Z owners was sitting at the nice number eight. Since we didn't know who the driver was we couldn't eliminate males or females. I had him fax the list to the bond office, and Lula and I went over it.

Richard M Bathke age 59, Jeff M. Cannon age 50, Duane A. Mason age 29, Tommy L. Hoffman age 61, David S. Hughes age 29, Marjorie J. Nelson age 37, Herman and Elizabeth Coleman ages 27 and 24 respectably, and Tomas M. Page age 53. Something told me we were looking for a younger person.

"Let's check out Duane Mason, David Hughes, and The Colemans first. If that doesn't pan out we'll look at the rest of the list," I said while mapping out the best route. "Coleman first, then Hughes, and last Mason since he's in Ewing."

"How about lunch first," Lula said, just as my stomach growled loudly. "Guess that's my answer."

"Don't you two have weapons training today?" Connie asked.

"The class was canceled," I told her. "Outbreak of the flu or something. It's rescheduled for next Monday, but we might change it to a weekend class. It's getting harder to spend four hours four days a week in a training class with the amount of FTAs right now."

"How does the weekend class work?"

"Two eight hour classes, but then we're done. We can give up two days of work better than four half days."

"Yeah I see what you mean," Connie said, and we left.

We loaded up on chicken nuggets, French fries, and Cokes in the drive through at Wendy's and headed to 832 S. Olden Ave. We parked one house down and across the street from a white Nissan 350Z with smoked out windows. Damn that was too easy. We munched on our food and watched. After ten minutes of watching with no activity I called Ranger.

"Yo, Babe," he said.

"Can you have a search ran for me?" I asked with my eyes glued on the house in front of us.

"What do you got?" he asked.

"I got two people. Herman and Elizabeth Coleman are the proud owners of one white Nissan 350Z with smoked out windows. This was too easy, so my stomach doesn't like it too much. This was our first house to look at and here sits the car. I think we're going to check the other houses just in case. There might be more than one car with smoked out windows."

"Good thinking. I'll have these two ran. Let me know what else you find." And he was gone.

I called Morelli next with the car update and asked him to run a search on Herman and Elizabeth as well. We waited around for another ten minutes then left and spent the next hour driving to every address on our list and came up with no other cars matching the description. I was feeling uneasy about this development. Who were Herman and Elizabeth Coleman, and what did they have against me? Was it Elizabeth driving and Herman noting my car, or was one of them just the get away driver? I dropped Lula off at home, swung by the bank to deposit my money, and went back to my apartment. I tossed my bag in the closet, dropped food into Rex's tank, and stared in my fridge for something fabulous to munch on, but came up short. It was still early afternoon, but Lula and I were sick of the rain and we were both sore from training. I toed my shoes off and stripped on the way to my bedroom. I got half way there when my front door opened revealing Ranger. He smirked at my lack of clothing and walked through the door leading Morelli. Shit.

"Why me?"


	8. Chapter Seven

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Seven**

Just when I thought life couldn't get any worse, I was suddenly very aware of the saying when it rains it pours. I really could have used some divine intervention before my door opened exposing Ranger followed shortly by Morelli. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate their company. It was more I didn't appreciate their company together when I was stripped down to my underwear. Both have seen me in less, but not at the same time. The situation with our little triangle was awkward enough without adding a lot of exposed skin to the picture.

I didn't think Ranger was bothered by our current situation in the least, but Joe on the other hand looked like he might kill Ranger at any moment for actually having the nerve to look at me in my underwear. Ranger's smirk turned to a grin the longer I stood unmoving. My legs just didn't seem to be cooperating.

"Put some clothes on and meet us in the kitchen, Babe," Ranger said, chuckling.

"Did your cell break? A little warning might have been nice," I said.

"That would have taken all the fun away."

"You think this is fun?" I got a broad grin in return. I narrowed my eyes at him. "And if I don't get dressed? What if I feel like staying like this?"

His grin grew to a 200-watt smile and he started walking to the kitchen. "Feel free, I'm enjoying the view." Damn him he always called my bluff. I stomped off to my bedroom listening to Ranger laugh on his way to the kitchen. Joe hadn't said a word, which was highly unusual for him. Normally he didn't care who was around, he'd say whatever he felt. The bluntness comes from being born and raised in Jersey. Then you add in full blooded male Italian and get rude hand gestures and sarcasms to join the bluntness.

I threw on a tank-top and some little shorts and hurried back out to the kitchen. And it was a good thing I hurried, because I wasn't sure what happened while I was throwing on my clothes, but my kitchen reminded me of an old western where the sheriff and the outlaw were facing off for a gun duel. Morelli was red faced with his hand on his sidepiece, and Ranger seemed to be casually leaning against the kitchen counter, but I could tell he was dangerously tense. That was the difference with the two men in my life. Morelli was loud and waved his hands around a lot when he was mad, verses Ranger got even quieter than normal.

My eyes jumped from Ranger to Morelli, and I instantly saw red. How dare Morelli come into my home and get all pissy about whatever he was pissy about. Did he call first to tell me he was coming over? No. I grabbed my gun off my counter and stepped in front of Joe. His eyes flicked to me and he took a step back.

"You want to explain to me what exactly you're doing?" I asked Joe, narrowing my eyes with my gun held at my side.

"What I'm doing? What are you doing?" he questioned, eyes narrowing at me before quickly flicking to my gun.

"I figured since you were turning my kitchen into the OK Corral, I should come prepared for the two o'clock shoot out. Now answer the question, what are you doing?"

I wasn't in a very good mood. My hair looked like crap because of the stupid rain, and I found another freak to chase me. I just hoped the freak wasn't particularly dangerous. Why couldn't I ever find the stalker that sent me love notes because he was infatuated with my looks? Instead I get the stalkers that send me creepy notes because they're infatuated with killing me.

"I was just following through on my warning," Joe said, glaring at Ranger.

His warning? What warning was he talking about? Do I know about the warning? Oh shit the warning during the Scrog issue. '_If you overstep boundaries with Stephanie and move in on me, I'll find you, and it won't be good.'_ Jesus, were we in high school?

"Look Joe, I think some things need to be cleared up and there needs to be an overall understanding. Ranger probably has overstepped the boundaries into our relationship, but the only way he could overstep them is if I let him. In my head I knew I was wrong, I knew whatever was happening between Ranger and I was an indiscretion to our relationship. But my head, heart, and body didn't always see eye to eye. With that said I may have let him overstep some boundaries, but by no means did he move in on you. I didn't let that happen. You and I ending things has nothing to do with Ranger. Ranger and I are not together like you and I were. To be honest I don't really know what's going on between us. I don't know where whatever we have is going, nor do I know what will happen when we get there or if we get there. We don't talk about it. And for the first time in my life I don't care. Whatever it is we have doesn't need a title. I'm just going to enjoy the ride to wherever I'm going, and trust the arms that are holding me on the way," I said and sat my gun back down on the counter. "Also you need to understand that who I date or see in an intimate way is my choice. You don't get a say in the choice."

Joe looked like I slapped him in the face. His face registered shock for just a moment before the cop face slid into place. "Nice place you got here, Steph," he said looking around. "I guess it's easy to make a choice when money's a factor. What's next another new car?"

I slapped him across the face before I even so much as took a second to think about it. Then of course what I did registered in my brain I covered my mouth with the offending hand and took a step back. I didn't know what I was thinking, nor did I know what to expect. I didn't think Joe would hit me back, but he might arrest me for assault on a police officer. I ran into Ranger's chest on my second step back, and he circled his arm around me to steady me. Holly Toledo! I must be out of my mind. It was the only possible explanation. At least I didn't punch him in the nose.

"I'm sorry, Joe. For the slap, but not for the reason behind the slap. You deserve a broken nose for that statement, but I shouldn't have hit you. It's been a stressful day, what with the wacko and training. Wait I don't owe you an explanation at all. You just insinuated that I sold myself to Ranger, that I allowed him to buy his way into my life. Is that what you think? That I would be with somebody because of money. You don't know me at all Morelli," I shouted in outrage.

"Money is hard to ignore, and you've never had much of it so forgive me if I see this apartment a little convenient," he said.

I pulled myself out of Ranger's arms and went toe to toe with Joe. I gave him a quick jab to his chest with my finger. "You come home after being gone for eight weeks and just expect everything to be just like it was when you left. You expected me to put my life on hold while you ran off to play cop. Well I didn't put it on hold. In fact I decided I needed to give it a face lift. You don't even care, though. You don't have a clue what I've been doing while you were gone. I've worked my ass off to get this apartment. _Me_. I don't attempt to catch high end skips, I do catch them. I'm paying for me to live here, and I paid for all the stuff I put in it. I don't need a man to take care of me, you chauvinistic pig. You're scum Morelli."

He narrowed his eyes at me and leaned in a little. "So I'm back to scum huh? I guess this is war then."

"It sure the hell is," I said, my voice loud.

"Fine," he shouted, throwing a file down on my kitchen table. "This is the last favor I do. Next time you call about one of your constant stalker issues it'll be official police business."

"Don't worry I won't be calling you for official or unofficial business."

"Fine," he said, heading for the door.

"Fine," I yelled back, giving him the finger as he slammed my apartment door. I stomped back into my kitchen, threw the fridge door open, and grabbed a beer. I looked at Ranger after draining half the beer, and he was staring at me with his mouth open. I couldn't help it. I started laughing. Ranger gaping at me like a fish was just too funny.

"Babe," he said, giving me a miniscule shake of his head. I grinned at him, shaking with silent laughter. I finished my beer and opened the file Morelli threw on the table. No records for Herman and Elizabeth Coleman. Two squeaky clean individuals, and no help what so ever to me.

"I had to deal with all that bull shit for nothing," I said, grabbing another beer. Ranger flipped through the file, consisting of two pieces of paper, while I downed my second beer.

"I brought the search results for each Coleman. I can't see a connection to you, but I might be missing something since I don't really know what you've been doing the past eight weeks," he said, grabbing the two files from the kitchen counter. "Let's go sit down in the living room while we look these over."

"You don't have to stay. I'm sure you have work to do. I can look them over and get back to you. I really appreciate you having this done for me," I said, grabbing another beer. Ranger's eyebrow rose as I threw myself on the couch and opened the beer. I was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, so I was sure Ranger was debating how long he had until I passed out.

"This is work. You're safety is and will always be my top priority," he said, handing me the first file. I flipped through the both files reading all about the two individual's lives, but came up with no connection.

"I don't get it. I don't know these two people, and from what we have here, I don't see a connection. Why was one of them if not both of them involved with sticking a note on my window this morning?"

"Maybe we don't know enough yet," Ranger said and gently massaged my shoulders. My head flopped forward relaxing into his touch.

"You mentioned your training, Babe. What training are you talking about?" he asked, while working the tension out of my shoulders.

"Today's training. I hurt everywhere," I said, feeling my shoulders loosen up slightly.

"What did you work on?" We hadn't really talked about my training that much.

"Throws and sweeps, and then did repetition drills on them. Before doing any of that we did chest, back, and abs. Hundred and twenty push-ups, twenty-seven pull-ups, and a hundred and eight dumbbell lifts. My arms feel like Gumby now. I feel like the first day of training all over again. I really hate Tanner and James today."

Ranger chuckled and rubbed down my back massaging from my shoulders to my tailbone. "Tanner and James are your trainers?" I nodded my head soaking up the feel of his hands. "What did you exactly learn today?"

"Scoop throw and small outside hook."

"Good. What about weapons training? I thought you were starting injured shooting techniques this week?"

"The flu attacked the trainers."

Ranger laughed, softly while his hands turned me to mush. "Where do you get your weapons training?"

"Marksman's Pistol Institute. They're fairly private. We had to interview with several people before we were allowed to train there. They want people that are extremely dedicated to carrying and learning," I said, my words coming out slow. I had a feeling the beer was catching up to me. I downed those three beers like water. Oh Boy.

"What's the training like?" He was messaging my hips and tailbone.

"Long but worth every penny and every hour. They broke the training down perfectly so we didn't feel incompetent at all. I learned so much more than just how to fire a gun. That's where I learned how to assess a room, a talent I never knew I possessed. We learned a lot of tactical thinking. I'm real familiar with S.W.A.T. now."

My head started to spin. Oh shit.

"You never told Joe you loved him before I got shot?"

I was too drunk to keep up with his subject changing. I didn't remember telling Ranger that. How did he even know?

"I could never say it. I felt it but couldn't say the words." My words slurred together slightly. Maybe he wouldn't notice.

"I think that third beer may have done you in, Babe."

I had no response. He was right that damn last beer did me in. I closed my eyes hoping the spinning would stop, but it only made it worse. And now I couldn't get them back open since they weighted fifty pounds each.

"Why were you so distraught when I got shot? I've had several people tell me about how you reacted," he asked, with his mouth on the shell of my ear and his hands kneading my body.

"Because, I love you."

I smelled fries. Yummy, yummy fries. Oh my head hurt. I rolled onto my back and slowly opened my eyes. I was in my bedroom, in my bed but had no memory on how or when I got there. I remembered fighting with Joe and drinking three beers. Oh crap. I didn't drink three beers, I chugged three beers one after the other. My tongue felt like sandpaper, and I had cotton mouth from hell. I still smelled fries, so that wasn't a dream. I lifted my head just as Ranger appeared in my doorway holding a McDonald's bag and a soda. I tried to smile, but I wasn't sure how it looked on his end. He brought me the cure.

"Are you in need of the cure this morning, Babe?" he asked, grinning while he leisurely strolled to my bed. He gently sat down next to me and held a fry to my lips. I took it out of his finger and devoured it. He handed me the bag, and I went to town feeling my head clear. "You have about twenty minutes until we leave for your run."

"We?" I said, munching on fries and drinking my Coke.

"We."

"It was just a note, Ranger. I don't need a body guard. Lula is there with me, and I trust her with my life," I said, annoyed.

"It's not about needing a body guard. I enjoy running with you, and I like the park. It's an hour I get to spend with you without interruptions. It might be the only time I get, so I'm going to take advantage of it," he said, tucking a curl behind my ear. My eyes filled with tears, and I smiled at him.

"You passed out on me yesterday. You were talking one second and the next you slumped forward out like a light. I actually checked for a pulse you were out so damn fast."

"I don't remember much." I leaned against my head board. "I remember the fight with Joe and chugging three beers, but after that it's kind of patchy. We looked over the files, but didn't find anything right?"

"Right. We just talked after that," he said, touching my cheek.

"Oh. Did I say anything in my drunken stupor that I might regret or be embarrassed about today?" I asked, while I desperately tried to remember everything I said yesterday. He looked at me with his blank face without saying a word. "Why the blank face, Ranger? What did I say yesterday?" I remembered talking about my training, but the rest was fuzzy. I closed my eyes concentrating. He asked me about loving Joe, and he asked me about something in my ear. "What did you ask me after talking about Joe?" He looked at me closely.

"I asked you about your reaction when I got shot."

"I don't remember the question or my answer, so ask it again please."

"Why did you react the way you did when I got shot?" He was watching for a certain reaction.

Why didn't I remember what I said? I could tell him why I reacted the way I did, but I didn't know if it was the answer he was looking for. My lips are pretty loose when I was intoxicated.

"There are a lot of reasons I reacted that way. When I heard the locks on the door I didn't know if it was you or Joe. I was afraid the person would be walking into something they weren't prepared for. I knew at that moment I needed to tell you and Joe how I really felt about you both. That's why I told Joe on the way to the hospital that I loved him. When I saw you get shot over and over again, I just kept thinking that I lost the chance to tell you how I feel. I thought you were dead. And I couldn't shake the thought that the last image I had of you was going to be you bleeding on my floor. No amount of oxygen was going to take away that thought. I was hysterical. I couldn't imagine my life without you in it. Mostly I thought you were going to die without ever knowing how much I love you. I thought I was never going to get the chance to tell you and show you how much I love you."

He gathered my in his arms and hugged me to him. "I love you too, Steph. I'm glad your answer didn't change," he said, his mouth on my ear. He kissed my neck tenderly, and I waited for the qualification, but after a minute of silence I didn't think one was coming. A huge grin spread across my face, and I pulled out of his arms a bit.

"No qualifications?"

"You took away all of my qualification on Friday. I've always wanted you to know I love you, but that there were things I couldn't give you. I needed you to understand that I love you even though I couldn't give you a ring with the perfect Burg marriage, in the perfect Burg house littered with kids. I couldn't give that to you because I didn't want it. Even if it meant having it with you. I only know how to be me, and that wouldn't be me."

And for the first time I understood what 'in my own way' meant. I leaned forward and kissed him softy. "Thank you for telling me that." What I really wanted was to pull him down on top of me, but my alarm went off officially crashing our intimate moment.

I jumped off the bed and rushed to get ready. We were out the door in ten minutes and at the park five minutes later. Ranger parked in my typical spot behind Tank's Sonoma and Lula's Firebird. We set into our routine, but it was different. Ranger may say he was there because he wanted to spend time with me, but I knew better. The three of them instantly went into guard mode. Tank took the lead with Lula next to me and Ranger behind us. If it wasn't so sweet I'd be annoyed. He loved me and wanted to protect me, but he also didn't want to change my days. He was still letting me be me, but protecting me at the same time. I wondered if the training was adding to this type of protection. Before I started training he would have threatened to lock me up in a safe house, but now he was standing beside me or behind me in this case, and helping me protect myself. His trust in me was higher, too. I wondered if he was starting to see me as an equal instead of an obligation.

As we finished our run and were cooling down the guys moved closer to us but still stayed one in front and one behind. We stretched at the end of the trail and looked at the cars. No notes on any of them, but I didn't know why there would be. Nobody was stupid enough to put a note on Ranger's personal vehicle unless they had a death wish.

Ranger dropped a kiss on my lips, which I deepened just enough to pull a quiet moan from him. "We'll finish this later, Babe. Have a good training session, and call me later. I want to have a meal with you today, and if it means ordering in and shutting off our phones that's what we'll do." He kissed me again and walked to his car.

I'd do anything to get a chance to shut off our phones. A meal sounded nice if it meant getting him for desert.

"What's going on with you two? You seem different today," Lula said while she drove us to the gym.

"We love each other," I said, grinning.

"Huh, you two finally admitted that?"

I guess we weren't so subtle about our feeling for each other, but for some strange reason we just kept heading in the same direction on opposite sides of the street. It felt nice to have a walking partner. Joe was there, but not really there. He was walking in a direction just a little off from my direction. It kept us close enough to engage in a relationship, but never close enough to end up at the same destination. Joe wasn't the Burg either, but he still had Burg tendencies. He still wanted the stay at home wife and mother. He also needed somebody available to answer his screaming libido constantly. He didn't really care about the cooking and cleaning, but he did want his woman home. Ranger on the other hand wanted a person that could keep up with him without bitching about how much time he spent working. Somebody who understood why his life was hell on relationships. And of course he wanted somebody who wanted the same things as him.

We got to the gym in ten minutes and we walked in to broad grins. "Glad to see you two came back," Tanner said, laughing. Lula let out a disgusted sound, and I gave them the finger as we put our bags down and went out to warm up.

Today we did all cardio. No weights in our workout and then learned two new escapes. A full our of eye gouging and face clawing drills was slightly disturbing if I was being honest. I seriously didn't actually ever want to have to do either escape on a real person. The hour flew by and before we knew it Lula and I were walking out of the gym to her car. We weren't really all that sore today.

"Any word on your note leaver?" Lula asked, as we got to the parking lot.

"Nope."

"That's good," she said, looking at me oddly. "Why do you sound so glum about your 'nope'?"

"Well I guess it could be good or it could be really bad," I said, looking straight at Lula's car. There was a note tucked under the wiper blade on the passenger side.

"Huh spoke too soon."

For crying out loud, it must be too much for me to expect my life to be free of psychos. I speed dialed Ranger and he picked up after two rings.

"Do I want to know?" he asked.

I sniffed into the phone. "I'm not going to cry. I'm really mad. I hate this. My life officially sucks."

"Another note?" he asked, not even bringing up the constant sniffing.

"Yeah, I wanted you on the phone while I got it and read it," I said while getting gloves out of my bag. "You know moral support in all."

"Right, moral support." I grabbed the letter. I quickly unfolded it and smothered a scream with my hand. "Babe? Stephanie what is it?"

I didn't respond since I was in shock. My breathing was coming in short gasps and tears were flowing freely down my cheeks. Tanner came up behind me and pushed my head down between my legs. He took the note and cell from me and handed it off to Lula. I heard her scream and then James talking to Ranger and trying to calm Lula down. I stood up and looked in the passenger side window. On the seat was a large box with Stephanie written in red across it. _Please don't let that be blood. And please don't be what I think is in that box._ I rushed over to James and took the note and my cell back again.

"Ranger?" I said.

"Christ, Babe, don't do that to me again. You have to stay with me. I'm on my way. What does the note say?" he asked, and I looked back down at the typed page with blurred vision.

"It says, 'Wasn't yesterday fun? I was disappointed you decided to look at the note without calling the bomb squad. You shouldn't have involved innocent people, though. Poor Sarah should have minded her own business. I hope you like my present, Stephanie. I had fun making it for you.' There's a box on the passenger seat Ranger. A big box. And it has Stephanie written in red on it." I was gasping for air again.

"Breathe, Babe. Come on stay with me. I'm five minutes away. He's just fucking with you, Steph. You're giving him what he wants. Don't play his game."

I looked at Tanner and he was staring at the box appalled. His words from a few weeks ago replayed in my head. "Never fight the opponent's fight, do the opposite." He looked at me and gave me a reassuring smile, just as Ranger pulled up. I hung up my phone and rushed to him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I could do this. I needed to pull myself together. Ranger was right I was playing the game how the psycho wanted it played. He wanted me scared and weak. I pulled out of Ranger's arms and wiped my face. Ranger smiled slightly like he was proud of my resolve, but not happy about my current situation.

"We have to call this in, Babe. We don't know what's in that box and we have to play this safe and smart. I know what you're thinking is in that box, but we don't know that for sure," he said, drawing me back further from the car.

I knew deep down he was right, but my pride didn't want to give in. I didn't want this place swarming with cops making cracks about my newest development and exchanging money on who won the latest bet regarding my life. I just wanted to be psycho free. I heard Tank talking on the phone, and hoped to hell he wasn't calling Morelli. I didn't want to see his smug face.

Fifteen minutes later the parking lot was swarming with cops, which was exactly what I didn't want. The note had been taken from me and bagged as evidence. The bomb squad came and left once the car was deemed bomb free, thank God. I felt like a complete and utter moron. I'd bet he was getting a kick out of seeing this circus. For not playing his game it sure looked and felt like I was playing his game.

Morelli showed up five minutes after the first cruiser and hadn't so much as looked at me let alone said a word in my direction. He was currently standing next to the box getting his gloves on so he could open it. Ranger was standing next to me with my hand firmly in his. He hadn't left my side since the whole thing started. Tank, Lula, Bobby, Frankie, Lester, and Manny were spread out around me keeping guard. Morelli opened the box and sucked air in through his teeth. He let out a few explicates and looked up at me. My stomach dropped at the look. He was scared for me, and I felt the tears well up in my eyes again. I blinked a few times pushing them away and marched over to face my fear.

"Cupcake, you don't want to look in this box," he said, scowling.

"Yes I do. I have to show him I'm not scared, that he's not winning."

"You should be scared. Hell I'm scared," he said, starting to shut the box flaps. I grabbed them and ripped them back open so I could look in. _Oh Fuck!_ was my last coherent thought.


	9. Chapter Eight

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

Chapter Eight

_Oh hell I think a two ton truck ran over me and a steam roller came back to finish me off._ I lifted my hands to my head making sure it was still attached, and slowly opened my eyes. Huh two Rangers, every girl's fantasy. I blinked a few times clearing my vision until only one Ranger remained. Oh well one Ranger was all I'd ever need.

"Aaahhh, what happened?" I asked whoever was listening.

"You fainted, Babe," Ranger said.

Oh right the box with Sarah's mutilated and chopped up body stuffed in it. It was so stupid to look in that box. I didn't think I'd ever get the image of Sarah's horror stricken face staring up at me from inside the box out of my head. A chill ran down my entire body and my eyes filled with tears. I took a few deep breaths pushing aside my emotions. Emotions weren't going to find this guy, and emotions weren't going to bring Sarah back.

"Why does my head hurt so badly?" I asked, confused.

Ranger cringed and brushed a finger along my jaw line. "You fell on my knee." He had a mixture of anger and guilt fleeting across his face.

"You kneed me in the head?" I asked in surprise.

"Babe!" He was appalled I could ask such a question, but I mean really 'I feel into his knee' how stupid was that?

"What? Come on Ranger I feel into your knee. That's like saying your face ran into my fist after you punch somebody," I said, irritated. I heard a snort from behind me and I turned around. Lester was standing directly behind me next to Lula and both were grinning like buffoons. I narrowed my eyes at them, but as usual my glare did nothing but encourage them.

"Sweetie, if you were standing in my spot you'd be laughing too," Lester said, chuckling. Lula started laughing. I shook my head in disgust.

"What's wrong you people. Sarah's dead because she helped me out and you all are standing around here laughing and having a good time," I said while sitting up.

"Honey, nothings bringing her back. It's a tragedy that some sick fuck felt her life was worthless, but life goes on. Our laughing isn't disrespectful to her, or even about her," Bobby said while patting my head.

He was right life goes on. Now I needed to find the sick fuck that did this to her and make him pay.

"Okay, so Ranger how did I _fall_ on your knee?" I asked, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

"Ooh let me, ooh ohh let me," Lula said, while jumping around with her hand in the air like a school girl excited about being next up for show and tell. "See girl it was like this. You looked in the box like an idiot and passed the fuck out, but on your way down it _all_ got fucked up."

Lester and Bobby started laughing and Ranger was glaring at everybody. Lula smacked Lester in the head while grinning and shushed him.

"Anyway as I was saying it all got fucked up. See the way you were facing you should have just fallen straight back into Ranger's arms and all would have been fine, but nothing goes as planed when you're involved," she said, chuckling again.

I stared at her unblinking. They've all lost it. I looked around for the first time and saw Morelli behind me sulking, Ranger next to me smoldering, and Tank to the left of Ranger trying to control himself. I didn't see Frankie and Manny, but I was sure they were around. Most of the cops had dispersed, and I noticed the vile box was gone as well.

"Shit I'm going to lose it trying to tell you this," Lula said, taking calming breaths but a giggle popped out ever couple of breaths. "See when you fell back SuperCop over there grabbed the front of your shirt to stop you or something, but ended up going with you instead. Ranger caught you slightly, but your following partner's face ran into Ranger's forehead knocking Batman on his ass," she said, grabbing her stomach as she laughed.

Tank lost it too at that point. My mouth dropped, and I looked at Ranger for confirmation. He wouldn't meet my eye so I knew it was true.

"And then, and, and, then," she said between giggles. Oh God there was more. "When Batman fell on his ass he let go of you so you hit the back of your head on his knee before landing on the ground, but the best part." She was laughing again. "Yeah the best part was that SuperCop was still hanging on to your shirt and landed, landed." She lost it. She had tears streaming down her face and she was doing the open mouth laughing thing with no noise coming out.

"Where did he land? Somebody tell me for Christ's Sake where he landed," I said, looking around.

"He landed right in your man's junk. Face planted right into Batman's package," Lula said and busted out laughing again.

My mouth dropped open, and I covered it with my hand when a snort came out. Ranger glared at me as I shook with stifled laughter. Omigod, why did I have to be out cold and miss that? Joe let out a few explicates from behind me and left kicking a few cars on his way. I snorted again and couldn't contain the giggles erupting from me anymore. Ranger glared at me again and got up walking to his car. I wiped the tears running down my face and got up to follow him.

"I'll meet you at the office Lu," I said, while racing after Ranger.

"Ranger stop," I said, still giggling. He turned and glared at me again. "Oh come on, what if it was Les or Bobby's crotch Morelli face planted in? You would be cracking up." The corners of his lips tipped up slightly, but that was all I got. It was better than nothing.

I stepped forward wrapping my arms around his middle and kissing up his jaw to his ear. "Do I need to take you home and worship your package until you forget about Morelli's face being there?" I nibbled on his lobe and dragged a low moan from him. He tightened his arms around me and nuzzled my neck placing kisses up to my mouth.

"I think that's what I desperately need," he said against my lips before capturing them in a hungry kiss.

He picked me up and carried me to the passenger seat, buckled me in, and ran around the car to get in. He started the car and placed a phone call at the same time. "I'm offline for a few hours. Yeah," he said, and looked at me smiling. He disconnected and drove toward my apartment.

Now under normal circumstances the trip from Mercer Gym to my apartment should take approximately six minutes give or take a minute or two depending on traffic, but on a day where Ranger and I were desperate for each other the trip took exactly three minutes on the dot. We pulled up to the gate and it took Ranger two tries to get the right code. Maybe desperate wasn't a strong enough word. My pelvis contracted, and if I got any wetter I'd soak the seat. We got out of the car and took the elevator up to the third floor. As soon as the doors closed Ranger had me up against the wall kissing me senseless. The doors dinged open before we could get too into our lust induced state, and we were in my apartment a second later.

Ranger picked me up and carried me to the bathroom, dropping our clothes on the way there. Once in the bathroom, he put me down to start the water, and I finished undressing. He turned around and set my body on fire with his intense gaze starting at my toes and working his way up my body to my eyes. His heavy lidded black eyes looked at my inflamed naked body like a starving man, hungry for his first real food in years. He stalked toward me, eyes never leaving mine. We came together in a frenzied kiss, desire seeping from every touch, every kiss, and every look. We backed up into the shower, and I pushed him against the wall. I grinned at him and started my slow and torturous journey down his body. I kissed, licked, and nipped every inch of his gorgeous maleness until he couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed me by the arms and pulled me up until my legs were wrapped fully around his hips. He drove into me in one deep thrust, filling me to the hilt. His mouth was everywhere, kissing and licking my overly sensitive skin. We moved together fast and hard, our heavy breathing coming out in short gasps. I arched into him answering his thrusting hips. I felt the clenching deep inside me just seconds before I convulsed around him letting out an uninhabited cry of satisfaction. He powered into me once more before soaring over the edge in a shuddering release.

We stayed together for sometime afterward, just touching and kissing. We realized suddenly how long we'd been standing there when the water started to cool off. Ranger quickly turned the cold all the way off and we showered at warp speed bumping into each other and laughing as the water kept getting cooler and cooler. We jumped out just as the water turned freezing and wrapped up in towels.

"I'm cold. Know of any ways to warm me up?" I asked Ranger, seductively. He growled throwing me over his shoulder and carrying me to my bed. He tossed me in the middle and crawled on top of me.

"Let me show you how many ways I know to warm you up," he said, flashing me a devilish grin. Oh Boy.

Two hours and several lingering kisses later I was headed to the bond office. I knew the smile on my face could be seen for miles, but Ranger wasn't hiding his satisfaction any better. He said his image would be ruined if anybody saw him right now, since he couldn't get the stupid grin off his face, so he was headed back to hide in his office for the rest of the day. We had our meal together as well. I ordered omelets from New York Bagel Shop and Deli. They'd become my new favorite place to eat. They delivered and their food was unbelievable.

I pulled up in front of the office and checked myself in the mirror. Oh boy. Might as well get it over with. My face couldn't get any more obvious that I just had incredibly satisfying sex. I pushed open the bond office door and met Lula's Cheshire cat grin. I rolled my eyes, but smiled anyway. Connie sat behind her desk guarding the office. At the sight of my smile her jaw dropped, and she picked up a file to fan herself. Some things never change. Melvin stopped filing and looked around the room curiously. He'd never met Ranger so he just didn't get it.

"Come sit and tell Lula everything your face doesn't," Lula said, grinning.

"You did it didn't you? You slept with Ranger," Connie said in awe. I wondered briefly what she'd say if she found out this wasn't the first time? "Omigod was it completely amazing? It was wasn't it?" I just smiled and sat next to Lula on the cheap ass fake leather couch. "You're not going to leave us hanging are you?"

"I sure am," I said, smirking. "Any files?"

"Nope," Lula said, grinning again. She knew I wasn't going to give them any details, especially since Connie would spread it through the Burg before I made it to my car parked out front.

"Did the Firebird get confiscated?" I asked, leaning my head against the back of the couch.

"Yep, and after the cops are done with her she has to go visit Al and get four new tires," she said, pouting.

"What's the matter with the tires?"

"Slashed, all of them."

Huh I didn't notice that since I was so preoccupied with the note and box. A chill ran through me again just think about it. That poor woman was mutilated. God only knows what the sick bastard did to her before killing her. I never should have looked in that box. I knew what was in there just from reading the note. Lula knew it too. Hell everybody that read it knew it.

"Hey Tank asked me about which guys signed up to be part of our team," Lula said, dragging me out of my horror show memory.

"That's funny, Ranger asked me about it while we ate breakfast this morning too. We haven't checked our e-mail. They just got the letter yesterday. Probably haven't even thought about it too much," I said, moving over to Connie's computer. She logged us on and we check our e-mail, which said we had 13 new messages. We opened up each one rattling off names and Connie wrote them down for us. I guess Bobby, Lester, Hal, and Ace really talked up the job. In the end we had a good start on a list of the guys wanting to work with us.

"We should probably work today," I said, sitting back down on the couch.

"Yeah I suppose," Lula said, plopping down next to me as her cell rang.

"Yeah," she said into the phone. "Uh huh so you giving me something else until you're finished?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "What the hell does that mean? Don't you get all cranky with me, Morelli. I didn't tell your dumb ass to take an eight week leave of absence. You got what was coming to you." She was getting worked up, and then suddenly hung up the phone. "He hung up on me."

I grinned at her. "What was that all about?"

"Oh that stupid cop of yours just called to tell me it was going to take a few days to process my car. Then he said since I'm all tight with Manoso, I should just ask him for a car to drive, but that I should be warned that anything coming from him has a cost, and Tank might not like the price I have to pay."

"He didn't!" I said, my jaw dropping. I knew he didn't like that I was with Ranger, but honestly he was taking this too far. He was acting like Ranger was a pimp.

"I'm all pissy now so let's round us up a felon. Who's on our shit list today?" she asked, hands on her hips tapping her foot impatiently.

"I believe we're up to Windy Otto," I said, grabbing the file from my bag.

"Right the drug selling child neglecting mom. And what do we got on her?"

"Hmmm, name, social, address, which won't do us any good since it was a Meth lab. Home phone, which I'm guessing is as useful as the address. Birth date, driver's license, and who secured the bond. Not much, but enough to start on," I said, skimming the file. "The bond was secured by her sister Cathy Virmillion. She put up her car to cover the fifteen percent."

"Let's start with her," Lula said, picking up her bag. "Where we going?"

"138 Mason Ave. The car in question is a blue 2001 Acura Integra," I said, waving to Connie and Melvin before following Lula out the door.

We arrived at her house a few minutes later, and Lula knocked on the front door. A deeply-tanned, very short woman with an hourglass figure opened the door. She had yellowish eyes and thick, straight, very long crimson hair. Her cheeks were hollow and her chin was wide, but her smile was warm and inviting.

"Can I help you," she asked, her eyes bouncing from Lula to me.

"We represent Vincent Plum Bail Bonds," Lula said. "Your sister, Windy, missed her court date. We need to find her to help her get back in the system."

Her eyes narrowed and her whole demeanor changed abruptly. "And just why would I help you find my sister?" she asked.

"Because you secured the bond, and you're responsible for paying if we don't find her. The cute little car in your driveway will belong to Vinnie. So I suggest you help," I said back, unsmiling.

"She's my sister, I won't help you find her," she said.

"Think about what she did to your nephew," Lula said, nostrils flaring.

"What about him, he's a brat. He whined all the time," she said, sneering.

I stepped forward, invading her personal space. She backed up into the door frame as I pursued her. I leaned in, my face inches from hers, glaring holes in her. "You callous little bitch. He's a baby. He's innocent and completely dependent upon somebody else to care for him. Your sister was responsible for caring for him and she neglected him. Now start talking or I'll have your car picked up within the next ten minutes."

"I don't know where she's at. She was staying here until two weeks ago, when she just up and left without a word," she said, as I backed off.

"Give us somewhere to start looking. Friends other family members she might turn to. Does she have a car, a cell phone, a bus pass? Does she have favorite hangout spots? What stores does she frequently go to?" I asked, as Lula shoved a pad and pen at Cathy to start writing.

We left a half hour later with places to look and people to talk to. It was amazing how corporative people would be when you threatened them. If I looked like Ranger, all I'd have to do was look at them, but since I was small and a girl I had to be nasty. I wasn't above being nasty but sometimes it'd be nice if people would realize we were just doing our job.

We started our search in Windy's old neighborhood on East State St. I parked the car in front of her house and we carefully walked up the broken front steps to the two-story gray duplex. The front windows were boarded up and there were various signs on every board. The front door held an eviction notice and yellow crime tape, which was cut. Lula looked at me, and I raised my eyebrow. I knocked on the door and we waited for a full minute before we heard noise coming from inside the house. The door creaked open and there stood Windy Otto.

"Yes?" she asked, looking like we just woke her up.

"Ms. Otto, my name is Stephanie Plum and this is my partner Lula. We represent Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. You missed your court date we're here to help you reschedule that," I said, shifting my foot forward to insert it in the door frame. She looked a little frazzled when I said where we were from. She blinked at us a few times and threw the door as she bolted to the back of the house.

"I got the back," Lula shouted as I ran after her through the house.

She was throwing things behind her as she ran, leaving me to hurdle chairs and dodge books. She ran through the living room and into the kitchen which made me a little nervous. She already threw chairs and books at my head what was to say she wouldn't throw knives or small kitchen appliances. I slowed down and crept softly the rest of the way through the living room and flattened myself against the wall separating the two rooms. I didn't hear any noise, so I poked my head around the corner and barely missed the plate. Shit!

"Look, Windy, you need to give yourself up. We'll catch you no matter what. Think about your sister. She'll lose her car if you don't come in," I shouted into the kitchen. I didn't hear any noise and she didn't respond. What to do, what to do. I cringed and peeked around the corner again to find an empty kitchen. Sneaky little shit. I took off after her again having to hurdle a chair she positioned just inside the dinning room. I threw open the back door and ran down the cement stairs. I looked all around as I ran the length of the yard until I got to the back alley. Lula came running up just as I got to the alley.

"You get the back next time," she said as we ran toward Garfield Ave. We hit the pavement running just as a motor caught on the corner of Garfield and East State St. We slowed to a jog as we watched Windy drive off in her red four-door Volkswagen Jetta. Son of a bitch!

I looked at Lula and grinned. "What took you so long?" She glared at me and we walked around the corner to my car.

"I had to run four houses down to get to the next ally, then four houses back up. Plus there was this dog," she said, as I started laughing. I looked up just as I was opening my driver's door and spotted a black Ford Explorer half a block down the street. I got in the car and dug out my binoculars, focusing them on the Explorer. Lester and Manny were sitting casually in the SUV keeping watch on me. I gritted my teeth and counted to ten. Lula took my binoculars and started laughing. I had to count to ten again. Once I got to fifty I speed dialed Ranger.

"Yo," he said after the first ring.

"I thought you trusted me," I said, gripping the steering wheel.

"It's not about trust, Stephanie. It's about keeping you in my life," he said, with a sigh.

"It is about trust, Ranger. You don't trust me to keep myself safe, and you obviously don't trust Lula to watch my back."

"Don't you bring me into this," Lula said, shaking her head at me.

I rolled my eyes. So much for having my back.

"Babe, think about what you're saying. If I trust you with my life, why wouldn't I trust you with your own? I'm not taking any chances. Lula is there to watch your back while you two chase down felons. Lester and Manny are there to watch your back in case the crazy butcher comes after you. They're just another set of eyes." His voice was soft, tender.

"You should have talked to me about this. The way you did it says you don't trust me." And I hung up.

"Huh I'm going to keep my opinion to myself," Lula said from her seat.

"That's a good idea." I glared at her.

"I'll keep my opinion, if you check your attitude. I didn't sick the body guards on you, so don't snap at me."

"I'm sorry. It's just that nothing changed. I've spent eight weeks training my ass off, and I'm still training my ass off, yet he still goes behind my back and sticks two men on me," I said, dejected just as my cell rang. Gee who could that be.

"What?"

"Don't hang up on me, Steph," he said.

"You hang up on me all the time. You finish talking and hang up, so guess what Ranger it goes both ways. I'm finished talking so." I hung up.

Lula started laughing. "I hope you have your will updated."

"Shut up," I said, laughing.

She wasn't too far off. Ranger hated being hung up on, so he was probably getting in his car to hunt me down. He loves me, though, so I didn't think he'd kill me. Maybe just shake me until my teeth fell out. I try his patience, but right now he was walking a fine line, and I might shoot him if I see him.

I started the car and drove west down East State St until I reached Manmouth St and took a left. I pulled into the Burger King parking lot and parked. We went inside followed by Lester and Manny, ordered and sat down together to eat.

Lester grinned at me as I took a bite of my burger. "Ranger called as we were pulling in the parking lot wondering where we were."

"I guess it's too much for me to hope you told him we went to the Burger King on N. Olden Ave, huh?" I asked, munching on some fries. He smiled and looked over my shoulder toward the door.

"Babe," Ranger said from behind me, but I ignored him.

"So what the hell were you two doing while Lula was running her ass four houses down and four houses back up, and I was getting chairs, books, and plates thrown at my head?" I asked, ignoring the raised eyebrows from all parties at the table.

Lula grinned and let out a small chuckle. "Guess I'm glad I took the back. Did any of the chairs, book, or plates hit you in the head, cause that would explain a lot."

I stuck my tongue out at her just as my chair was pulled out, and I was pulled to my feet. I let out a squeal of surprise and was pulled into Ranger's chest. He nuzzled my ear, and I relaxed into him.

"Will you please talk to me now?" he asked, and of course he had to throw in the magic word. I nodded my head and we walked outside stopping at his car. "I don't hang up on you, Babe. I always finish the conversation before I disconnect the call, you hung up on me."

"I was mad. I am mad."

"I know, and you have every right to be. I should have talked to you, but I didn't think you'd allow me to assign two men to you. You always fight me when I want to protect you."

"Not always. I didn't fight you when you assigned a tail during the Cone mess, or during the Slayer mess, or during Scrog. I guess I was hoping things would be different this time. I want to look after myself, or at least have a say in who is helping me look after myself. I get what you're saying with having the guys tail us. Lula and I can concentrate on work, and the guys can concentrate on psycho. It's just …" I trailed off sighing as I looked at my feet.

"It's just what, Babe?" He tipped my face back up to look him in the eyes.

"I thought that after … everything we've said and done in the last two days you would think to involve me." Then my stupid eyes filled up with tears.

He pulled me into his arms, holding me close while whispering in my ear. "I'm sorry, Stephanie. I'm not use to involving anybody in my decisions. I should have discussed my plan with you, and listened to what you wanted. I'll try harder to think before I act in the future. Can the guys stay?" he asked, kissing my favorite spot under my ear.

"Cheater," I said, on a sigh. "They can stay."


	10. Chapter Nine

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Nine**

Being wrapped up in Ranger's arms had a way of making a girl feel better. It didn't take away all the hurt and disappointment, but it did make my tummy squishy and my heart warm. I looked up into his gorgeous brown eyes and felt my tummy get squishy again. All I saw was love in his eyes, and just the fact that he let me see it made me love him even more. I stood up on my tip toes and kissed him softly.

"Come over and have dinner with me tonight. I'll have Ella make you dessert," he said and brushed his lips across mine.

"Hmm, you're playing hard ball throwing in dessert." I wrapped my arms around his neck. "Tell me," I whispered, brushing my lips across his, "what else do I get if I come for dinner?"

"I suggest you pack a bag," he said, nipping at my bottom lip.

"That sounds promising. Does that mean I'm staying the night?" He kissed me hard on the mouth while drawing me closer to him.

"It means you'll be far too tired to drive home." He dropped his lips to mine again as my phone started buzzing on my hip.

"If it's not mine it's yours," he said, grinning and leaning against his car pulling me with him.

I pulled my phone off my hip and rested against Ranger's chest. "Hey Tanner," I said, smiling.

"Hey beautiful. How you doing?" he asked and Ranger's eyebrow shot up. He could hear the conversation, and I knew that when I answered. I didn't have anything to hide so the phone call didn't need to be private.

"I'm good. Thanks for asking," I said, sinking into Ranger further. There was silence on the other end for a moment, and I thought maybe we got disconnected. "Tanner?"

"I know when you're hiding something, Baby. Tell me how you really are?" he asked, his voice taking on a serious tone.

Ranger's blank face dropped real quickly at the endearment, and I wasn't sure what to do. I knew Tanner didn't mean it in a sexual way. He'd been calling me Baby for a few weeks now. He sees me as a little sister and that was how he saw the term Baby.

"I'm not hiding anything. What I'm feeling is fairly obvious. I'm sad that Sarah got killed because of me. I'm mad as hell that this guy is fucking with me. I'm extremely pissed I don't know who he is, and why he's fucking with me. Mostly I'm growing impatient with finding him and it's only been two days, but he's already found a way to plant his ass in my life. I'm sick of his fucked up game, and when I find him he's going to wish he never met me. Other than the obvious I'm good," I said, tipping my head keeping my eyes locked with Ranger's. He hadn't lifted his mask yet. I wanted him to know that Tanner wasn't a threat.

"Good to know. How's the head?" he asked, with a snort. I grinned and giggled a little. That earned me a glare, but at least the mask lifted a little.

"The head is great. It's been kissed better." I bit my bottom lip.

"That's almost the best news I've heard all day," he said, and Ranger lifted a brow. I just smiled.

"Oh yeah you got something that can beat Ranger lovin …" I started to say but got interrupted.

"Hey there baby I don't want to hear it," he said, and I grinned. "Some things are better left unsaid. I'm just glad you two finally shut off your damn phones."

I looked at Ranger and smiled knowing he heard the comment. His expression softened just a touch, and I kissed him quietly.

"Anyways I wanted to know how you were, but I also wanted to let Ranger know I have a present here for him."

"Oh?"

Ranger leaned in a little closer. "What do you got for me?" Ranger asked Tanner as he took the phone.

"Should have known you would be together. I have a tape from the parking lot. I wanted to give you a chance to get a copy made before I turn it over to Detective Morelli. I forgot I had the owners of the building install surveillance cameras a few months ago. I watched it and you can't see faces, but it's worth a look. I also know Morelli has a tendency to keep things for Steph when she gets involved with one of his cases. She doesn't need shit kept from her when it's her life being put at risk. He thinks keeping her ignorant is keeping her safe. That shit is just wrong and backwards," he said, with a slight bite to his voice.

Ranger smiled and pulled me in closer. I had a feeling Ranger was going to like Tanner and James a lot. They reminded me of him. They had the Merry Men attitude about them.

"I'll send someone over to make a copy. I appreciate this. I own you one man," Ranger said, with his mouth next to my temple.

"No you don't. This is about Steph, and I would do anything for her. I love her very much, and I don't want to see her get hurt. I grew up with four brothers and no sisters. Steph and Lula are like the sisters I never had. We've grown real close over the last eight weeks. I know what you mean to her, so I knew you would make sure she got to see the tape," Tanner said, and I smiled.

I loved him too, but he was right it was a brother/sister kind of love. It was the same love I had for Tank, and the same love I was gaining for Lester. I looked over to the doors and saw him and Manny guarding me even though I was with Ranger. I laid my head on Ranger's chest and watched my guards for the day. Lester did a complete scan of the area then locked eyes with me. I gave him a slight smile, and he smiled full on back. He winked at me and flicked his eyes to Ranger earning him a proper Burg eye roll. He chuckled and went back to alert guard dog.

Ranger disconnected my phone and clipped it back on my hip. His hand lingered giving it a squeeze before the hand made a trail up the side of my body in a feather light touch. When his fingers brushed across the side my breast, I closed my eyes and moaned. Damn this man could turn me into a puddle with just a simple touch. He continued up cupping my cheek in his hand and his lips softly covered mine in a deeply emotional kiss. I whimpered into his mouth as I felt Goosebumps cover my entire body. He eased out of the kiss leaving me quite breathless. He leaned his forehead against mine while brushing his thumb across my lips.

"Come over whenever you're finished for the day. I'll wait to watch the tape until you get there. Go straight to the fifth floor when you arrive. We'll head upstairs after we've watched the tape," he said, and kissed me softly before letting me go.

"Are you picking that tape up personally?" I asked, grinning. He smiled back and got in his car. I walked back up into Burger King to finish my lunch.

"So you two didn't catch your skip, what's up next on the plate today?" Lester asked, taking his seat across from me.

"We gotta find our skip. She's a sneaky little shit. I honestly didn't think she would go back to her house. I was thinking we would do a little B & E and learn some more about her then hit the neighbors and the rest of that list," I said, finishing my fries.

"Yeah that shocked me too. You don't think she'd go back again after we left?" Lula asked, and I raised an eyebrow. "You said sneaky not smart."

"Huh, don't know. Let's head over there now and conduct our search like we planned. I didn't really get that good of a look around while I was dodging chairs, book, and plates," I said, while chucking my garbage and heading out the door. "Tanner called while I was outside with Ranger. He remembered the parking lot was under surveillance. Ranger's picking up a copy and we'll all watch it later."

"Sounds like fun. We'll meet you two there," Lester said and got into the Explorer.

We arrived a few minutes later and looked around briefly for the red Jetta. We didn't see the car so we proceeded up the steps with the guys in tow this time. They stayed on the porch keeping watch while Lula and I went in. After all they were there to watch for the psycho, not help us with our skips. We slipped on gloves and walked through the door. Lula went up the stairs while I searched the main floor. The furniture was sparse and mostly upturned on the floor, thanks to it being chucked in my path or at my head. The wall paper was peeling and the tan carpet was stained. Overall the place was actually pretty big. I opened the closet on my left and kicked around the items piled up on the floor. I was gonna have to spray my shoes with Lysol when I was finished. I moved forward into the living room and riffled through the papers scattered around. Bills, bills, more bills, junk mail, more junk mail, magazine, nothing useful. The kitchen was even less useful, and the dining room pathetic. I went back into the living room and headed up the stairs hoping Lula was having better luck. I got to the top of the stairs and met Lula on the landing. She was coming from the back half of the house.

"This place has four bedrooms," Lula said, breezing by me.

"Really?" I said, following her.

"Back two rooms and bathroom are empty. I'm checking the front two if you want to hit the top floor."

"There's another floor?" I asked, whipping around looking for the stairs. I walked up to the third floor amazed at the size. If it wasn't in such a lousy neighborhood the house would be appealing. What am I thinking I'm not a house person? I'd have to pick out drapes and mow the lawn.

I found an address book page lying on the master bedroom floor and that was it. There was nothing in the room at the opposite end of the hall from the bedroom, and there was nothing in the bathroom. The rooms were decorated sparsely just like the main floor. I couldn't figure out how Windy was affording a house this great. She obviously didn't have many possessions, and the possessions she did have were not in the best condition. I walked down the stairs and met Lula at the bottom.

"Found a page torn out of an address book. Has a few names, but no numbers and no addresses," I said as we walked down the stairs and out the door.

"I found a whole lotta nothin. But damn it's a nice house," Lula said, looking at it again before we walked down the steps behind the guys. "I wonder what the price is."

"Lula, the neighborhood is not nice. Besides what on earth would you do with all that house?" I asked, leaning against the side of my car.

She grinned at me. "Have you seen my man? He's a big man, he needs room to play." Lester burst out laughing and Manny covered up a snort with a cough. "So girl what are we doing about that address page you got?" she asked, officially changing the subject. I shook my head and looked at the list again. I folded it and slipped in my back pocket.

"We have an hour until shift change, so how about if we talk to a few neighbors, drop by my place quickly, and then head to RangeMan. Ranger should have that tape by now. We can watch it and call it a night. I'll use Ranger's computer tonight and run a search on the address page people," I said, while tossing my gloves in my car.

Twenty minutes later we were on our way to my apartment. The neighbors were absolutely useless. Lula took the houses across the street from Windy's house, and I hit the four houses after hers. Two weren't home, and the other two only cared that the horrible girl didn't have that defenseless baby anymore. Lula's people didn't even know who she was asking about. I guess Meth houses in that neighborhood were a common thing.

I pulled up to the gate and entered the code. The gates opened smoothly, and I pulled through going to my parking spot. I ran up to my apartment with Lester following and quickly packed a bag. Lester busied himself with teasing me and feeding Rex. We were back on the road headed for RangeMan five minutes later. Once at RangeMan I flashed my key to open the gate blocking the underground parking lot. I parked my mini in the last of Ranger's four spots and headed to the elevator. I hit five on the panel and the elevator jumped into action. If Lula was curious she didn't show it or say anything. RangeMan and Ranger's apartment at RangeMan are two things we'd never discussed. At five, Lula and I followed Lester and Manny out and into the control room. Ace, Oscar, Hal, and Zero were manning the monitors. Lula stared around in shock. It was an impressive setup, so I understood the shock.

"Hey, hey, hey it's the bad ass two some," Ace said, smiling. He hopped up and dropped a kiss on my head and slung an arm around Lula's shoulders.

"Ranger around?" I asked, leaning against the wall next to Lester.

"What only come around to visit the boss? You don't love us or something," Ace said, pouting. "I'm hurt." He grinned tugging on a curl as he headed back to his station to sign off for the day.

"Not to worry, Ace, she loves us just not as much as she loves the boss," Bobby said from behind me. He just came through the stairs door with Frankie trailing behind him. I smiled and batted my eyelashes. "How's the head hon?" he asked, kissing my forehead and then turned to Lula. "What's up Lula?

"Not much. How's it shaken Brown?" she asked, from her comfortable stance against the wall.

The elevator opened and Nate, Isaac, Vince, Snake, Gram, Clay, Woody, and Slick filed out for shift change. Nate, Isaac, Vince, and Snake took up their positions in front of the monitors after muttering hellos to Lula and me. Gram and Clay caught up with Bobby and Frankie and headed out. Woody and Slick stood next to Lula and asked where we were headed. I grinned and dropped my head on Lester's shoulder. My eyes slowly slid shut. I wasn't at all willing to trade Lester in for Woody or Slick. It wasn't that I disliked either man. It was that Lester's … well Lester. I'd grown attached over the last several days. And I honestly didn't think either of the other men had the same comfortable shoulder. I was exhausted. The day was just too much, and it was only four o'clock. I still had to watch the tape, do a search on Windy's friends, and think real hard about how to catch the psycho. I felt a familiar tingle and the air shifted just slightly, and I knew Ranger walked into the room. I smiled, keeping my eyes closed, and comfortably on Lester's shoulder.

"You don't have anything exciting planned for this evening other than work do you, because that seems to be the only thing I brought home, honey," I said, unmoving from my spot. I felt Lester's shoulder shake slightly.

"Boss there's a woman that just arrived asking to speak with you. Her name's Carolyn Green. Should I have Bill send her up?" Nate asked, and I cracked one eye open to look at Ranger. He grinned at me.

"I don't know her. What does she want?" Ranger asked, still watching me amused. I rolled my eyes and closed them again.

"Something to do with Sarah Sutherland. She seems kind of shaky," Nate said, and I flew off of Lester's shoulder.

"Ranger!"

"Send her up," Ranger said, taking my hand as we walked to the elevator to meet her. After a minute the elevator opened revealing the woman that was with Sarah in the park the other morning. She had large sky-blue eyes that were rimmed with red. Her hair was curly, night-black and worn in a high pony tail. She had a supple build and light-colored skin. Her cheekbones were prominent and mouth large. Her lower lip was trembling slightly and her legs didn't look like they would carry her much further.

"Les," I said, nodding my head to her. Lester and Manny hurried forward each taking an arm helping her to Ranger's office. Tank joined us by that point and we all crammed into Ranger's office. Manny and Frankie took off after Carolyn was settled. Bobby gave my hair a tussle and took off as well. I looked at Lester, and he smiled taking up a position next to Ranger's desk. Woody and Slick took up guard next to the door. Lula and I sat on the large black leather couch with Carolyn between us. Ranger and Tank pulled up two chairs and sat just in front of us. Carolyn was shaking all over and silently sobbing. I took her hand trying to calm her so she could talk to us.

"I'm so sorry, Carolyn. It's all my fault. If Sarah hadn't talked to me none of this would have happened," I said, trying to hold in the tears threatening to spill out.

"No, no this … this isn't your fault," she whispered. She wiped her eyes and took a few calming breaths. "Sarah did the right thing by talking to you. I was there when they showed up. I was in the bathroom, and they didn't search the house," she said, her voice quivering. "I couldn't see what happened, but the bathroom was just next …" she gasped as tears spilled down her cheeks. "There were three of them. They kept asking why the almighty Ranger Manoso didn't protect her after she talked to the bitch Stephanie Plum. They kept asking what she told you," she said, looking at me. Her eyes were so sad. It felt like my heart was being ripped from my chest. "She was strong, though. She didn't tell them shit. She didn't utter one word the entire time." Her head dropped back and she covered her face with her hands. "I should have helped her. I was so scared. I'm not strong like Sarah. I feel so horrible. I could have saved her," she whispered.

"Carolyn, you did the right thing by staying hidden. Sarah wouldn't have wanted you to get hurt. You said there were three of them," Ranger said, talking to her in a soothing voice. "I'm very sorry I didn't offer to protect her. At the time we didn't know the situation was so serious. All we had was a note, that didn't give us any inclination he would hurt people."

"It's not your fault, either. I came here for two reasons. I felt you needed to know what I heard, and because I need you to protect me. They asked Sarah who I was. She wouldn't tell them. I'm scared they'll figure it out. They took her cell when they left. They can easily figure out who I am. My cell keeps ringing from a blocked number. I haven't answered and there is no voice mail. Sarah and I were lovers, so it's only a matter of time before they figure out who I am. As soon as I figured out who Ranger Manoso was I came right here. I'm scared," she said.

I spaced off at that point. This guy was insane. He was taking care of loose ends, and completely willing to kill innocent people. I shook thinking about what he wanted to do to me. I felt the couch shift, and then I was in Lester's arms. I let him hold me as I shook remembering Sarah's face. God what they must have done to her before killing her.

"Babe?" I looked up at Ranger and realized Carolyn, Woody, and Slick were gone. I must have looked confused because Ranger shook his head amused. "I'll never figure out how you can space out at will. It's probably a good thing you did, though. I don't think you would have wanted to hear everything that happened to Sarah," he said, taking me from Lester. "I'm putting her in a safe house. Woody and Slick are taking the first shift since you're here for the night. They took her to her place to get some stuff. You ready to watch that tape?" I nodded just as my cell rang. Morelli.

"Hey," I said.

"Are you doing okay, Cupcake," he asked, just as softly as I'd answered the phone.

"Yeah I'm okay."

"Good. I have a tape from the parking lot at the gym. I wanted you to know. I can't show it to you since it is evidence, but I can tell you what's on it."

"I was just getting ready to watch it, so there's no need."

"Yeah I figured you would have a copy." I snorted. I knew there was a reason he actually told me about it.

"Look Joe, I know this is your case and you hate it when I'm wrapped up in one of your cases, but can we put aside our differences and work together? All of us. This involves me. I know you and Ranger work together all the time when issues arise with me. You don't have to be friends, but a professional level would be nice."

"You're right. As much as I hate it we'll all have to deal with each other throughout this. You got anything new I should know about?" he asked, with a sigh.

"Yes I do. The other woman that was with Sarah in the park came to RangeMan. She was at the house when Sarah was killed," I said, looking at Ranger. He nodded his head. "She's getting some stuff together right now, but then she's coming back here before going to a safe house. I know you need to question her, but please don't make things difficult. Ranger promised to protect her, and he will. You know the police don't have the capabilities RangeMan has to protect a witness. She's scared Joe and needs to feel safe. Ranger can make her safe, but we wanted you to have a chance to talk to her. I don't know how helpful she'll be to the case I kind of spaced off during all the details."

"Why did she go to Ranger instead of the police station?" he asked.

"She can explain all that. I really want to watch this tape. Why don't you head over here and you can talk to her in Ranger's office when she gets back," I said, getting a raised eyebrow from Ranger. I smiled and gave him a pleading look. He actually rolled his eyes and walked over to get the tape ready.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." And he hung up.

"Girl I don't believe you just offered Batman's office to SuperCop," Lula said, shaking her head.

"Look he doesn't have to allow us to put Carolyn in a safe house. What we are doing it interfering with a police investigation. I figure if we work with Joe he'll let us do what we need to do. It's his case and if we tread lightly and don't step on his toes he'll give us more room."

Ranger looked at me with amusement. "Legally gray, but morally right. Is that what you're getting at Babe?"

"Whatever, can we just watch this tape?" I said, sitting in the vacated chair in front of the monitor.

Everybody gathered around behind me as Nate started the tape. The camera was pretty far away from the area Lula parked the Firebird, but we could still see us. Ten minutes after we walked through the door to the gym a man in black matching the description Sarah gave us walked slowly up to the Firebird carrying the box. He placed it on the ground and pulled out something to unlock the passenger door. He heaved the box back up and put it on the seat before slipping the paper under the wiper blade. He started to walk away, but changed his mind and came back slashing all the tires. He left the way he came and Nate killed the tape.

I got a brilliant idea and reached forward pushing play again. I fast forwarded it until Lula and I walked out of the gym then pushed play. We watched as I dialed Ranger, grabbed the note, and had a break down. The entire scene replayed, and I realized how much I needed Ranger. The way we embraced each other when he arrived was so loving, but there was also what appeared to be desperation, like we were each others life line. Ranger's hand squeezed my shoulder, and I knew he saw it too. I stopped the tape there. I didn't need to see the rest. I wanted to have the feeling of the embrace remain.

"How much do you think Sarah weighed?" I asked, still staring at the black screen.

"162. She was big boned and quite tall," a small voice said from behind us all. I turned around and smiled at Carolyn just as Morelli got off the elevator and walked into the communication room. I quickly introduced them and showed them to Ranger's office.

"So, 162 pounds of dead weight. Our man in black is pretty strong. Sarah was accurate with her description," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. My head hurt, and I was tired.

"Woody and Slick you're Carolyn's guards until shift change. Once she's finished with Morelli take her to the safe house. Two hour check in times. Tank brief Roy, Manuel, Bobby, and Zero on the situation. They're on guard duty for Carolyn. Lester, you and Tony need to be outside the gym tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. You shadow the girls. I want you stuck to them like glue. Woody and Ike are your relief. Brief them a half hour early. Steph and I are offline unless there's an emergency," Ranger ordered.

"Ranger, I have a list of names to search tonight. I planned on working on your computer for a few hours," I said.

"Babe, you're exhausted. You were perfectly content with sleeping on Lester's shoulder an hour ago. Let me have the list, and Nate will run the search for you and have it ready before we leave in the morning," he said, while tucking a curl behind my ear. He was right I was exhausted. I handed him the list from my back pocket, and he passed it on.

"Come on, Babe. I do believe I promised you dessert, and Ella was only too happy to make it for you," he said, taking my hand.

We got to the elevator just as Morelli and Carolyn came out of the office. I figured they would be a lot longer, but I suppose she just wanted to get it over with. The seven of us got into the elevator together. Lula claimed being that close to Joe would give her the hives so she opted for the stairs and pulled Tank behind her. The ride down was quiet and a little uncomfortable. The elevator stopped at the lobby first and Joe asked if he could speak with me for a minute. Lester got off with me, and Ranger rode the rest of the way down to the garage to give last minute instructions to the guys.

"Manoso not trust you, Cupcake?" he asked, eying Lester trailing after us out of the elevator.

"Unless she's with Ranger, I stick to her like glue. In case you've forgotten you've managed to have her taken right out from under your nose, because you thought she was safe at your house. You haven't earned the right to guard her in my opinion," Lester said, glaring daggers at Joe.

"Les," I said, shocked.

He looked at me, and I knew he was serious. He was right. Joe always thought that because he was a cop he could protect me and that his house was safe. It was far from safe, and nobody seemed to have a problem going after me on his watch.

"I don't plan on listening to your conversation, but do not move more than five feet from me," Lester said, crossing his arms over his muscular chest.

I looked at Joe, and he was fuming. It wasn't that Joe was a bad cop, he was a good cop. I was just a tricky person to protect. "What did you need, Joe?" I asked, moving closer to him so our conversation was private.

"I questioned Herman and Elizabeth Coleman. Herman was driving the car that morning, but claims to never have been on that side of town. He's lying I just don't have any proof. Herman's not our man in black. He's not bulky enough nor is he tall enough. I don't have enough for a warrant either, but I plan on setting up surveillance on them," he said, while tucking a curl behind my ear. I got that funny fluttering feeling in my stomach and knew I needed some distance or I would be repeating the same situation with Joe as I did with Ranger. I stepped back just slightly and Joe's cop face slammed into place.

"I can't tell you everything regarding the case, but I can share quite a bit. The more you keep me informed the more I can return the favor." He leaned forward and brushed his lips across mine.

"Joe I can't do this. I hurt you because I allowed Ranger to do exactly what you're doing. I still love you, so I know it will be easy for me to fall back into this pattern. I won't let myself because I'm in love with Ranger. I need you to please allow me to explore what Ranger and I have without the interference," I said, backing up.

"He didn't give us that chance," Joe said, seriously and walked away.

I turned around running into Lester. We walked to the elevator in silence, and rode the entire way up to the seventh floor in silence. The doors opened, I stepped out, and the doors closed. He never said anything to me, nor did he look at me. I unlocked the door and went in. Ranger was leaning against the wall waiting for me. His face was blank, and I knew the control room already informed him of the activities in the lobby.

"It was just a kiss. I didn't return it and it won't happen again," I said in my defense before he could utter a word. He chuckled and walked into the kitchen to the fridge. He pulled out two Coronas and seated himself at the breakfast bar. I sat down next to him and took the offering.

"I'm curious what did you say to Joe when I would kiss you," he asked, and took a drink from his bottle.

"We never talked about you kissing me, and he never saw you kissing me," I said, watching him closely.

"What would you say to me about me kissing you? Let's say the first time I kissed you. What was it?" he asked, looking me in the eyes.

"Is this a trick question?"

"No. What did the kiss mean to you?" he asked, taking another drink.

"Trouble." He smiled and nodded.

"What about the kiss when I came back from Miami? What would you say if Joe asked about it?" he asked, tucking a curl behind my ear.

"It meant big trouble to me. I loved the kiss. It felt way too good. A kiss shouldn't feel that good when you are in a relationship with somebody else. It felt so good that I couldn't allow you to kiss me again before you left. I would have ripped your clothes off and became a cheater. If Joe asked about that kiss, I would've either lied my ass off or feign ignorance," I said, taking a drink.

"So when he brushed his lips across yours, knowing every camera aimed at him was picking it up, and I would know about it instantly, it didn't induce any other feeling but, 'it was just a kiss'?" he asked, draining his bottle.

I smiled knowing he was being just a little bit hypocritical. After all he did spend two years kissing another man's woman. That man was now giving him a taste of his own medicine. He has discovered he doesn't like it. I looked at him watching me and felt my heart slam against my ribs. Jesus this was my fault. I was the reason these men hurt. This wasn't a game of cat and mouse. This was about feelings. Real feelings. And not even an hour ago I realized how deep those feelings run when I watched the tape. I grabbed Ranger's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You know the feeling you have right now?" I asked, getting a slight nod in return. "Imagine how Joe felt when I told him I wouldn't go back to him because I'm in love with you and to please not interfere with our relationship." Ranger brushed a finger across my lips and cupped my cheek before leaning in and claiming my lips with his own. He picked me up keeping our lips locked and carried me to the bedroom. He kicked the door closed, and I was singing the hallelujah chorus.


	11. Chapter Ten

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Ten**

My mind was slow to come to a semi conscious state, but my body seemed to have zero problems understanding exactly what was going on. Ranger's mouth was hot, kissing down my neck to my breast. I was facing him, securely wrapped up in his arms. It was a good thing I'd gotten use to getting up so damn early other wise I might be crabby about a sex wake up call. Men think about how to get their _hard_ problem satisfied right when their eyes open, verses me I just wanted coffee.

"Good morning, Babe," Ranger said, while circling my belly button with his tongue.

"Mmmm yes it is," I said, and threw my head back as he got to his desired spot. The things Ranger could do with his mouth were lethal in a very good way. His mouth was magic and could take you to a very happy death.

He loved me completely and for an extended period of time. So completely in fact I was having a very hard time getting out of bed. Well that and the down pour of rain outside. No way was I running in that. I turned onto my back just as Ranger came out of his closet dressed only in sweats. I sat up to appreciate the view. His eyes roamed my naked body and he grinned when he caught my eyes. He stalked toward me and pulled me up into his arms and tight against his chest.

"That doesn't look like running weather," he said, kissing my temple.

"No it doesn't, so I think I'll call Lula and have her meet me here. We can use the treadmills if that's okay."

"Sounds good," he said, and kissed me softly before walking into the bathroom. I grabbed my cell and called Lula then grabbed my clothes out of my bag and got dressed.

Lula and Tank walked into RangeMan's gym right at six o'clock. We hopped on a machine and started with a nice walk. A few other guys came in during our run to work out, but nobody talked. There was music echoing off the walls, and heavy breathing, but no talking. There were no trees, fresh air, or beautiful scenery. I needed a doughnut. Maybe a dozen.

Lula and I stopped in at the control room to get our search results Nate did for us before leaving, and I got the distinct feeling I was in the dog house with the guys. Delyn, Cal, Pac, and Junior were sitting at the monitors, while Roy and Manuel were waiting next to the elevators for Lula and I. Cal handed me the folder with the results but didn't say a word. Lula raised her eyebrow at me and I took a deep breath counting to ten. Then I cracked my knuckles.

"Last night will never happen again. I didn't ask him to kiss me. I even stepped back knowing he was getting to friendly. He surprised me. I get that you're all loyal to Ranger and I appreciate that, but don't ignore me without even hearing my side." I stomped away getting in the elevator. Lula, Roy, and Manuel followed me in and we rode down to the garage in silence. They shadowed us to the gym and followed behind us as we ran through the down pour into the gym. They positioned themselves on both sides of the door to the training room and settled in to watch us work out.

My nerves were shot and I wasn't real friendly to anybody. Not only did I have to deal with pissy guys, I had a psycho to deal with. And I just couldn't shake the feeling that this guy was just starting, and it was going to get worse. He seemed to only strike once a day, maybe it was a control issue. I didn't think the man in black was our actual guy. Maybe a helper. He seemed too unsure of himself to be masterminding this sick game. Carolyn said there were three of them. So Colman, man in black, and the butcher. Or maybe Colman wasn't really a part of this at all.

Before I knew it Lula and I were leaving the gym and I never spoke a single word the entire time. Lula gave me a weird look and then flicked her eyes to the black Explorer parked next to my car, which was untouched. Roy and Manuel got in their Explorer and took off leaving Lester and Tony to follow us. I marched over to Lester's side of the Explorer and ripped the door open.

"Morning, Tony. I'm sorry you're going to have to hear all this, but maybe you need to anyway. Lester and I need to have ourselves a little talk," I said to Tony. I shifted my eyes to Lester and waited for him to look at me. It only took a few seconds.

"I realize you're mad at me because of last night. Joe got the message and Ranger understood. You need to understand that I've known Joe practically my whole life. I still love him, and that's not going to change within the days we've been apart. Joe is comfortable. He's Burg. He understands the way I was raised. He understands the passions I have for food, but he doesn't understand me. Ranger does. Ranger loves me for me. But he's also spent the last two years stealing moments and kisses even though I was with Joe. I let it happen because I was attracted to him. Eventually I realized I loved him. So I was in this really bad situation of loving two men. Two very different men. Joe wanted to marry me and make me into a stay-at-home wife. Ranger wanted to be my dessert. And I thought that's all I could have because he always made it clear to me it couldn't be more. He thought he couldn't give me what I wanted in life. He knows I don't want the Burg life now, so things are different," I said, taking a breath to calm down.

"My explanation to Joe was that I know I hurt him by letting the kissing between Ranger and I happen, but I won't let kissing between him and I happen because I love Ranger too much. Ranger and I have something that Joe and I never had. I won't let a few hormone driven kisses ruin that," I said, wiping the wet hair off my face and a few tears running down my cheeks. I normally wasn't a crier. Emotional situations were something I avoided at all costs. I did food instead. But this was my life. My life with Ranger.

"I love Ranger, Les. Deeply love him. The kiss surprised me. I knew the feelings we have for each other were starting to bubble, that's why I moved back. I know it might be hard for you to get, but I can't erase the feelings that are still there for Joe. It doesn't mean I'm going to act on them. In fact it means I'm going to be more cautious around him. I don't want to hurt Ranger. And I'm not fucking around with him either. It might sound like Ranger's my second choice, but he's not. The day I confessed how I'm going to start living my life, everything started new. Ranger is my only choice. I don't want anybody else. We fit," I said, wiping more tears streaming down my face.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I really took it wrong. What you said last night really makes sense knowing the history. The way it sounded to me last night, well … it doesn't really matter how it sounded to me anymore," Lester said, pushing my hair out of my eyes.

"Do you think you could call off the guys? I don't like you all being mad at me," I said.

"Consider it done. Now get in your car. If you get sick Ranger will have my head. I'll make you breakfast while you shower. So hurry and drop Lula off so we can get to your apartment," he said, shooing me out of his doorway. I ran over to my car and mopped my hair off my face. The good news was the rain slowed down some. The bad news was the reflection staring back at me in the review mirror. Yuck! Can we say the wet dog look?

"So I've figured out somebody kissed you last night for all the guys to see. Am I right to assume that somebody was SuperCop?" Lula asked, while wringing out the side of my hair.

"Yeah in the lobby right in front of Les," I said, while driving down Parkway Avenue.

"The guys are all mad, but Ranger isn't?"

"I talked to Ranger last night. He knows how I feel about the kiss, and about him," I said, pulling onto Sixth Street.

"And how do you feel about the kiss?" she asked.

"I can't change the way I feel about Joe in four days, so naturally I got some feelings. But really it was just a kiss. It didn't make me think twice about being with Ranger and it didn't make me want to follow Joe out the door back to his place. Just a kiss," I said, parking in front of Lula's apartment building.

"Good. Make sure everything's worked out with this, though. You need your head straight. Right now it's somewhere else," she said, jumping out of the car and running into the building.

My head was with a psycho. I hated not knowing what was going to happen. I hated that Ranger was losing more money on me because he had two men on me. Then he had two men on Carolyn as well and was forced to bring in a team of contractors to do his field work. So he was paying for three teams for three shifts a day because of me. I was losing him hundreds of dollars a day. I had to do something about that.

I pulled up to my gate and entered the code. I hadn't learned the names of the different guards on duty, but the same two guys were there yesterday too. I gave them a finger wave and moved forward to my parking spot.

Once inside and out of the rain, the guys went to the kitchen and I went straight to the shower. I stripped out of my soggy clothes and turned the water on as hot as my skin could stand. It burned for a second while my skin unthawed. It was in the low 50s outside, so it really wasn't that cold, but adding the rain and my wet clothes, my body was an ice cube. I climbed out after ten minutes and pulled a robe on. I fingered my hair as a way of styling it and let it air dry. My makeup consisted of powder, mascara, and lip gloss. The rain and I had a hate-hate relationship. I added a few more coats of mascara for a little extra courage and headed to my closet. The phone rang just as I was pulling clothes out to put on.

"Grab that Les," I yelled from my hands and knees digging for shoes.

"Stephanie Plum's house of treasures and pleasures, Lester speaking," I heard him say from inside my bedroom. I jumped up and ran to take the phone from him. He laughed and held it above his head out of my reach.

"Give me that phone. I asked you to answer the damn thing. A hello is standard you big jerk," I screeched, jumping at the phone. He laughed and waved it around.

"You want it, come get it. Come on, Sweetie, I know you can jump higher than that. You better watch it, though. If I'm not mistaken that tie on your short little robe is coming loose." I looked down and realized he was right. He just about got a free show. I readjusted the tie and gave him a front kick to the shin.

"Ahhh shit. That was uncalled for," he said, and dropped the phone, hobbling out of the bedroom. Tony was leaning against the door frame enjoying the show. He chuckled as Lester hobbled past him. He threw me a wink and followed Lester to the kitchen.

"Hello," I said after retrieving the phone from the floor.

"Stephanie Plum why is Lester answering your phone?" my mother asked. I groaned.

"I was getting ready so I asked him to mom," I said, while shutting my door so I could get dressed. "I'm sorry I didn't call you yesterday. I was really busy and just spaced it completely," I said, pulling my jeans on. "Wait why did it take you so long to call me?"

"Carlos called me yesterday and told me you were fine."

I smiled and felt my heart beat speed up. "That was nice of him. I'll have to thank him later," I said, as I left my bedroom for the kitchen. Lester glared at me and sat a plate of pancakes and a mug of coffee on the small table. I leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek and sat down to eat the food they made me.

"It was very nice of him. I appreciated the call. I'm surprised he got through, though. We had so many calls your father left in the cab to get away from it all. Your grandmother was pleased I must say."

"I'm sorry. How about if I come over for lunch today? If I can't make it I'll call, but then I'll definitely be there for dinner," I said, and took a bite of pancake. I moaned and looked at Lester shocked. "Les these are amazing. I didn't know pancakes could taste this good."

"Secret recipe. Hurry up and eat we gotta get going," he said, washing the dishes he dirtied.

"Mom, I have to go. I'll see you later today I promise," I said and hung up so I could devour my pancakes.

We hurried out the door five minutes later and ran to our cars. The rain had slowed down to a light down pour. I grabbed my hat out of my bag and shoved it on my head. Cute hair just wasn't on the menu for the day. I pulled up to the gate and gave the guys in the guard station a finger wave. They opened the gate and I took a left onto Lower Ferry Road. Lester drove right behind me leaving only enough room for emergency stops. I grabbed my CD book and riffled through it while attempting to keep one eye on the road. On my second page flip my cell buzzed on my hip. I answered it and hit loudspeaker.

"Yo."

"Yo? You're okay? You're swerving all over the road," Lester said.

"Looking for a CD," I said, flipping another page.

"Damn frickin woman scaring me shitless," he muttered and disconnected the call.

I gave him the middle finger and decided on Metallica. If I had to deal with a psycho and rain on top of it, I was doing it with Lars's drums as background noise. I turned on Parkway Avenue and sped past all the slow overly defensive drivers. I weaved in and out of traffic and smirked into the review mirror. I turned on Sixth and stopped in front of Lula's apartment complex. After a minute Lester pulled up behind me and I could feel the angry man glare. Lula got in and we took off.

"Everything cleared up?" she asked, putting her seat belt on.

"Yep." No. I had a psycho after me. My head was on all the possibilities awaiting me. What was next in the game?

I pulled into Marksman's Pistol Institute a minute later. We decided to hit the range since we hadn't actually shot our guns in a few days. We were running late, though, so we were stuck with spots out in BFE. Lester and Tony got out of the Explorer and rushed us through the main doors and out of the rain. Lula and I approached the security check point and presented our weapons.

"Wayne, we need two guest passes. They're on the job with RangeMan guarding, Steph. They are armed," Lula said, picking up her tray with her .45.

"I need ID, and I need to check your weapons," Wayne said. "And the gun range is closed today ladies. You have to shoot in the training room."

Lula and I grinned, knowing what that meant, as Lester and Tony handed him their RangeMan IDs and two guns each, plus a knife from Lester. Wayne checked all the weapons and returned them with bright orange passes for around their neck. We went through a side door to the training area and showed Lester and Tony where they needed to stay.

"Okay boys and girls. It's surprise inspection day today. We're doing 30 round drills. I also hear we have two guests from the security company RangeMan observing today. Guests of our beautiful bounty hunters," Jeffery said.

Jeffery Munoz was a partner at Marksman's. He did the field training. He had a boyish build, chalk white skin, thick eyebrows, round gray eyes like two silver coins, and curly red hair ending at his waist. He was an odd creature, but surprisingly handsome in his own way. His partner Quintin Han was responsible for the classroom training, and we didn't see much of him when we were in the training room.

"My helpers for the day are Clifton Young, Ed Philpot, and Todd Bodwell. They will be positioned at each of the stations. We will do five, seven, and ten yard distances of engagement today. Four drills at five yards, three at seven, and two at ten. Separate into three groups of three and let's get started," Jeffery explained.

Lula and I approached the five yard engagement station where Clifton was helping. I dropped my bag at my station and got my 10mm prepared. I pulled out two extra magazines and a box of ammunition. Clifton explained the four drills in detail. For the first drill I started at low ready. Clifton shouted 'go', and I engaged the target with one shot to the head in two seconds. The drill was repeated three times. The second drill I slipped my gun in my back holster so I could begin holstered. At the signal, I drew and engaged the target with one headshot in three seconds three times. I changed my clip and moved on to the third drill. I began at low ready strong hand only then engaged the target with two body shots in three seconds two times. The final drill at the five yard station required me to switch to my weak hand only. I changed my clip again and began at low ready. On 'go' I engaged the target with two body shots in three seconds two times.

Then I moved onto the seven yard engagement stations. I got myself set up again and listened to Ed explain the three drills. I emptied my three clips of extra rounds and reloaded them. I inserted the first one and slipped my gun in my back holster again. On Ed's signal, I started the first drill to draw and engage the target with two body shots in three seconds. The second drill I slipped my gun back into the holster and turned facing 90 degrees to the right of the target. On Ed's go I pivoted, drew, and fired two body shots in three seconds. For the last drill at the seven yard station, I re-holstered my gun and turned facing 90 degrees to the left of the target. At the signal I pivoted, drew, and fired two body shots in three seconds.

Ed approached me as I was gathering my stuff to move to the next station. "Is there a reason you're being guarded little one?" he asked, while wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Ed Philpot was in the same advanced class as Lula and me and we became pretty good friends. He was tall, maybe 6' with a slim toned build. His skin was tan. His eyes were milk chocolate. His hair was straight brown, and he had a beard and mustache covering his small mouth.

"Just a precaution," I said, smiling. My smile enlarged as my cell started ringing.

"I'm guessing that's your guard calling asking who the devilishly handsome man is with his arm around you," he said, grinning.

I burst out laughing and looked at Lester. He had his cell to his ear looking at me. Tony was wearing an equally serious look in the seat next to him.

"In all seriousness you would tell us if something was going on right?" he said, stepping back away from me so he could look me in the eyes.

"Absolutely." Not. I had enough overbearing men in my life I didn't need another. I picked up my bag and moved to the ten yard station ignoring my cell.

"The first drill you'll load a magazine with two rounds. Begin at low ready. Fire two rounds, one body and one head shot. Perform an out of battery reload and fire two more rounds, for a total of two plus two in seven seconds. Do that twice on my go each time. The second drill is begin back holstered and engage the target with two head-shots in seven seconds," Todd explained. I released my clip and emptied the round left in it. I reloaded the clip with two rounds and placed two rounds within my reach. I got in low ready and at the signal I went through the drill twice. For the second and final drill of the day I inserted a new clip and slipped my gun in my back holster. At the signal I engaged the target with two head shots and gathered my stuff to leave.

"Good job everybody," Jeffery said from behind us.

Lester and Tony were standing in front of the exit and proceeded through in front of us. On the other side of the door Lester turned around and stopped me. "When I call you, answer your phone."

"Les, you were calling because some guy had his arm around me. You were preserving your boss's property, not my body," I said.

"Cut the shit, Stephanie. You aren't Ranger's property. I know that, Ranger knows that, and all the guys know that. I'm doing my job. Have you already forgotten what you said on Friday about your safety? I don't know that guy, and I didn't know if you knew him. We don't know who's after you. It could be anybody. It could be somebody you know. I'm not taking any chances. I couldn't hear what was being said, so it's my job to make sure you were okay," he said, unsmiling.

"Uh oh, rhino alert," Lula said, and stepped back.

"I haven't forgotten anything, Lester. I never once said anything about cooperating with guard duty. I said _I_ was taking my safety more seriously. I realize this guy could be anybody, but you don't get to dictate my every move because it's your job. I didn't hire you, so as far as I can see my safety isn't your job. In fact guard duty has officially ended," I said, and pushed my way past them.

Lula stepped up beside me, and I checked my gun before bringing it to my side. We walked out the door together and headed across the parking lot to my car. The rain was down to a light drizzle, so seeing across the parking lot was much easier. I saw my car and froze.

"Oh hell no. That better not be what I think it is?" Lula said, from beside me and raised her gun looking around.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. What the fuck!" I spun around and looked at Lester and Tony. "You want to talk about all this safety bullshit and guarding my body. You should have been guarding my car and then you would have caught the fucker." I turned back around and walked cautiously to my car with my gun raised. Lula fell in step beside me. I could see a manila envelope taped to my seat. I dropped my bag and took out gloves while Lula guarded me. I snapped the gloves on and approached my car.

"Steph don't you dare approach that car. You don't have a clue what's in it. These guys have already killed one person. I think that certifies them as capable of anything," Tony said.

I looked at Tony and lifted my eyebrow. "This is a game. He's not looking to kill me until he's satisfied his entire game plan. Sarah wasn't planned. She was complete improvisation. He had to change his game once she entered the picture. This is about fear, Tony. I've figured that out already. I've had enough practice in this type of game. I know his kind," I said, and unlocked the door. I opened the door slowly and caught sight of red. Red liquid came running out from my floor board all over my shoes. My stomach lurched, and I turned my head heaving on the parking lot. There went my pancakes.

"Oh fuck," I heard Lula say right before a loud thump.

I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and saw Lula passed out on the pavement with red surrounding her body. I grabbed the envelope and slammed my car door. There was quite a group of people now watching what was going on. I ignored them and bent down squatting next to Lula. I smacked her face lightly and called her name. She blinked a few times and opened her eyes wide looking at me.

"Don't look anywhere else but my eyes. Stand up real slow and keep your eyes on me." She stood up with my help, and I walked her backward away from the car. I kept my eyes locked with hers until we were a good distance from the red liquid. Denial was my best friend. If I thought about what it really was then I'd be in trouble. I broke eye contact when I saw movement out the corner of my eye. I raised my gun and rotated to the movement. Tank and Ranger. I lowered my gun but didn't holster it. I watched Tank's eyes widen, and I looked back at Lula covered in red.

"It's not hers or mine," I rushed out when Ranger lifted his eyebrow.

"How did she get blood all over her?" Ranger asked.

"She didn't, it's just red liquid," I said holding the envelope up so he could see it.

"Ah of course red liquid. I'm not even going to comment on how you opened that car door without calling the police," Ranger said, and I saw Morelli walking up behind him with a grim expression.

"You just did. Besides I knew Lester would call all parties required," I said, and directed my attention to Joe. "What's with the grim face? You aren't covered in sticky red liquid." He flinched and flicked his eyes to my car then to the envelope in my hand.

"Please tell me that envelope was on the outside of the car," he said, pointing at it.

I looked down at it. "This envelope?"

"Jesus, Steph," he said, throwing his hands in the air. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

I gave him the middle finger and watched as patrol cars pulled up and started pushing people back out of the way. The crime scene investigators showed up next. They started securing the crime scene with yellow tape. In the distance there were reporters, and I cringed thinking of my mother. I might miss lunch. The CSI team took samples of the red liquid, yep still doing the denial thing. Joe stood off to the side watching, answering questions, and directing orders. Finally my car was taken. I let out a sigh and realized neither Lula nor I had a car to drive. I looked at Ranger. Nope not gonna happen. I guess it was big blue.

"Steph, what's in the envelope?" Joe asked, as he approached me. I shrugged my shoulders. I was really afraid it was something entirely icky like pictures of a dead body. More importantly Sarah's dead body. "Before we get to the envelope, let's discuss the blood."

"Red liquid," I corrected. I know I might be taking it too far, but it was my denial I was taking it all the way.

"Cupcake, denial will only get you so far. I won't know for sure until I get the results, but the blood, sorry red liquid most likely came from Sarah. I got the autopsy report this morning and she was drained of all her blood. She bled to death," he said.

I started seeing black spots and my breathing was coming in short gasps. Ranger gently pushed my head down between my knees, as I sank down sobbing.

"I'm so sick of psychos thinking I can handle all their demented shit. I'm not Wonder Woman," I said. I pushed out of Ranger's arms and jumped to my feet. "You hear me you sick fuck," I yelled. "I know you're watching. I'm just a girl from the fucking Burg. I can only take so much. Play your fucking mind games on somebody else because I'm done." I threw the envelope on the ground. "You hear me I'm fucking through," I screamed, and took off running back to the building.

Ranger caught me around the waist three steps into my get away. He picked me up holding me to his chest. I tucked my head in the crook of his neck and cried. He put me into his car, did up my seat belt, kissed my forehead, and shut the door. I was asleep before he got in the car.


	12. Chapter Eleven

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Eleven**

I could feel lips on my forehead and a warm hand on my cheek. I shifted on my bed, bring my knees to my chest and hit something hard. I partially opened my eyes. I was in Ranger's Turbo. I turned my head to the passenger door and Ranger was squatting in the doorway looking at me, with concern in his eyes. After a minute of just looking at me, he gently spun my legs out toward him and started taking off my shoes. I looked around and realized we were parked in front of my parents' house. My mother and grandma stood in the doorway watching us.

"Lift your hips, Babe," he said, with his hands on the band of my jeans. I looked at him wide eyed. He was going to take my jeans off here in front of the entire Burg. "They have blood on the bottom of them. You can put on my sweats as soon as your jeans are off. Nobody can see you. Just lift your hips."

I looked around for my equipment bag. I had a change of clothes in it. I didn't see it. I was sure Ranger just scooped me up without a second thought to my bag. I lifted my hips. As soon as the jeans were off he slipped his sweats on me. He put a pair of his socks on my feet, and he slipped a black t-shirt over my head. I pulled my shirt off under the massive black shirt and finished putting on Ranger's shirt. He handed me a black zip-up sweatshirt and I put it on. I didn't have any shoes so he gave me a piggy back ride to the door. I think that was to give me back a little bit of dignity. Carrying me would have made me look broken and helpless, which was how I felt.

Mom and grandma moved from the doorway to allow us in. Ranger sat me down and I quickly grabbed my pants to keep them from falling off. I rolled the waist until the crotch was where it was meant to be instead of at me knees. I looked like I was drowning in all of Ranger's clothes. I pulled the socks up and realized it was quiet in the house. Dad wasn't watching TV, and in fact I didn't think he was even there. The phone wasn't ringing off the hook, and it was then I realized the ringer was already off. Mom already knew about everything. I looked at her, but she hadn't said a word since we got here. She hadn't said anything about me changing my clothes on the street in front of God and the entire Burg. She hadn't said anything about my car filled with blood. She hadn't said anything about me losing it in front of most of Trenton, screaming at somebody that wasn't even there.

"Steph needs dessert," Ranger said to my mom. "If you don't have anything made, I'll run to the store and get her donuts and cake." I looked at him and tears streamed down my cheeks. Mom's eyes widened. My family didn't know what to do when people cried.

"No, Carlos, that's not necessary. I have dessert. I'll feed her all the dessert she can take, even if I have to bake all day," my mother said, and rushed to the kitchen.

"So was your car really filled with blood?" grandma asked me.

"No, red liquid," Ranger said, taking my hand and pulling me to his side. He was playing along with my denial. I loved this man. He brought me to my mom's for dessert, something he didn't think I needed, and he was sinking way into denial with me.

Grandma shifted her uppers around in her mouth while watching us. I noticed an instant change in her. She went from curious to thrilled. "So are two sleeping together now?" she asked, her eyes animated.

I smiled slightly snuggling into Ranger. Grandma broke into a broad grin and flicked her eyes to Ranger. There was a devilish glint in them, and I felt Ranger stiffen slightly. The man faced down felons and crazed psychos, but he was afraid of a little old lady with an overactive sex drive.

Ranger silently pulled me toward the kitchen. We sat down and watched mom run about the kitchen getting plates and silverware out. She sat a bowl of ice cream in front of me and went back to dishing up what looked like chocolate cake.

"Steph, now you have tell me about his package. Is it outstanding?" grandma asked, hopping around.

Mom jerked at the question and the slice of cake she was holding went flying in the air. We all looked up watching its progress. I knew what was going to happen, but I was too slow to stop the outcome. Splat! I slowly lowered my head. The cake slide down the front of my face and landed in my lap. The kitchen was eerie quiet. I didn't know if they were waiting for me to loose it again, or if they were holding in their laughter.

I turned and looked at Ranger. The corners of his lips tipped up. At least I think they did. I was having a hard time seeing through all the chocolate frosting. I reached up and wiped the frosting off of each eye. Mom's face was red from silent giggles. Grandma had her hand over her mouth trying to smoother her laughter, and Ranger was looking up biting his bottom lip, shaking. I looked down at the mess in my lap and swiped at the frosting. I quickly wiped it across Ranger's jaw line and smiled. His mouth dropped open and he blinked a few times. Batman was at a loss for words. I leaned in smelling the yummy cake smell.

"You smell good enough to eat," I said and licked along his jaw line to his ear. I leaned out and kissed him softly on the lips. His 200-watt smile graced me at the end of the kiss.

Mom smacked me in the head and handed Ranger a wet cloth. "Where are your manors? Honestly what would people think?" She crossed herself and went back to cutting up cake.

The woman cared too much about what other people thought. How the hell would anybody know I wiped frosting on Ranger? I looked at Ranger and he was mostly cake free. He brought the cloth to my face and cleaned me up. When he was finished I took the cloth and got the areas he missed on himself.

"So about that package?" grandma asked, again not letting the cake incident deter her. She was a determined woman. Luckily I was saved by the knock on the door.

"Are you expecting anybody?" Ranger asked my mother, while getting to his feet. Mom shook her head and he left the kitchen to answer the door. I stood up and cleaned the cake mess up the best I could. I'd managed to drench one set of clothes, puke and blood stain another, and now I had chocolate cake all over me.

"The cake is meant to go in your mouth, Cupcake," Joe said, following Ranger into the kitchen. He kissed me lightly on the forehead and dropped in a chair beside me. "I hope I'm not interrupting," he said to my mother.

She looked torn. Ranger had his blank face on looking at Joe, and Joe knew he said the magic words to any Burg woman. I rolled my eyes. At least he only kissed me on the forehead. That was just a friendly gesture right? It didn't really feel friendly, though. I was hoping it looked friendly. I was sure Ranger wouldn't say anything in my mother's kitchen. But maybe I was the one that needed to say something. Joe knew what he was doing, and he was stepping over boundaries that even Ranger never touched. Ranger never kissed me in any way in front of Joe when we were a couple.

"Of course you're not interrupting, Joseph. Have a seat I'll get you some cake. I was just starting on lunch, so it will be a minute. We started with dessert first since Carlos made it clear Stephanie needed it," my mother said, while bustling around the kitchen like a good hostess. I didn't understand why she felt the need to explain why I was having cake before lunch.

"Carlos?" Morelli said, looking at me. So far he had avoided looking at Ranger. In fact he wasn't even acknowledging Ranger was present.

"Yeah his name," I said, sliding closer to Ranger. "Did you need something?" I took a spoonful of ice cream and pointedly refused to even look at Joe.

"Ranger called me and told me he brought you here. I figured after you had some down time you would want to go over what happened this morning," he said, taking a bite of cake my mom sat in front of him. Food was one area Joe and I had in common. I could always trust he'd have a decent healthy appetite. And healthy didn't mean salad and grilled chicken. It meant fried greasy and tasty food. Dessert, meatball subs, pizza, gravy, and roast. The good things in life.

"You thought wrong," I said, and took another spoon full of ice cream. "I thought I made myself clear. I'm finished, terminado, finito."

"Cupcake, you can't be serious," he said, looking at me wide-eyed.

"How many different languages do I need to spell it out for you in?" I asked, pointing my spoon at him.

"Babe." I looked at Ranger. I thought he was on my side. "I am on your side. I know you. You're going to be kicking yourself in the ass tomorrow for allowing this guy to get the better of you. You have the kindest heart of anybody I've ever met. You are understandably down right now, but I know you would never allow somebody to get away with hurting other people when you might have the power to stop them. You can't give up," he said, tucking a curl behind my ear and brushing a stray tear off my cheek.

I took a deep breath and looked back at Joe. He had an unreadable expression on his face. He was staring at Ranger. He shook his head slightly and looked down at his cake. Grandma hadn't said anything since Joe arrived. She was following our conversation with her eyes, but strangely quiet. I locked eyes with her and she winked. Oh boy.

"So about that package," she said, looking serious.

"Mother!" mom said, turning red and eyeing the bottle in the cupboard.

I burst out laughing. I laughed so hard, I snorted a few times and had tears streaming down my cheeks. I loved grandma. She certainly knew how to lighten up the conversation. It was getting far too deep for my taste. After a minute I settled down and looked at Joe. He didn't look real happy.

"So this morning I saw the envelope through the window. I put on gloves, unlocked the driver's door, opened in slowly, and saw red. It started to leak out onto my shoes. Lula saw it, she passed out, and it sort of surrounded her on the ground. I grabbed the envelope and shut the door. I woke Lula and we moved to where we were when you got there," I said, and ate more ice cream.

"Well it's good to know you didn't contaminate the crime scene anymore," Joe said, shaking his head. "Do you think it's possible for you to avoid any of my cases in the future?"

"This case started with me Morelli, and there is no law that says I have to report a crime. As far as I was concerned someone broke into my car and left me a present. It was a crime I didn't plan on reporting. The blood was an unexpected addition. I of course would have reported the blood," I stated, glaring at him.

He took a deep breath. "Let's just ignore you contaminating the crime scene like we always do and concentrate on the blood. I won't have the results back if it belonged to Sarah until tomorrow at the earliest," he said, putting a folder on the table. I knew what was in that folder and I was not looking.

"Wait what's all this talk about blood. Steph's stud muffin here said it was red liquid. Now was it blood or red liquid?" grandma asked, eying Joe.

"I forgot we're still in denial land," Joe said, sliding his eyes to me completely ignoring the stud muffin comment.

"If you had the amount of psychos I've had stalk you, you would live in denial land, too, Morelli," I said.

"You wouldn't have all the psychos you've had in the last several years if you would have changed jobs like I asked a million times," Morelli said back. Ranger's hand flexed into a fist on my leg.

"You just don't get it. Scrog wasn't a new face. He saw Ranger and Tank do a take-down a long time ago. He was fixated for a long time. He plotted and planned everything he did in detail. Quitting will solve nothing. If I quit bounty hunting today, got married tomorrow, and had a baby nine months from now, some psycho I pissed off years before could track me down and put my child and my new serene life in jeopardy."

I froze and looked at Ranger. I got it now. He smiled slightly and gave me a nod. I looked back at Joe. Mom was listening very closely from behind Joe. Her mouth was open and her face was beginning to show some understanding.

"Becoming a bounty hunter wasn't exactly what caused the psychos in my life. It's me. I dig and dig and dig until I get my man. That pisses people off. My natural ability to stick my nose in everything caused my psycho problem. Ranger told me my job was to find the skip and drag his ass back to jail. That it wasn't my job to figure the shit out. But I'm too curious. I always have to solve it. Could you imagine if I would have listened to Ranger in the beginning, Joe? I never would have helped you clear your name. I would have called Ranger for help and drug your ass back to jail. Think about how different your life would be right now if I wasn't curious, if I didn't stick my noise in everything." He looked at me closely and shook his head.

"If you didn't have the job, Cupcake, you wouldn't have to stick your nose in anything," he said.

"If I didn't have the job Joe, you would be in jail. I pissed off the bad guys and cleared your name. The job fits my natural personality perfectly. I love my job. When are you going to figure that out?" I asked. I saw the corners of Ranger's lips tip up slightly out of the corner of my eye.

"Does this mean you're not finished, terminado, finito?" Ranger asked, smiling.

"I guess not."

"Good to have you back, Babe," he said, and kissed me softly on the lips. "Proud of you." I smiled. That was one statement I'd never get tired of hearing him say.

"You know my daughter better than I ever have," mom said to Ranger, getting all our attention. I looked at her funny. "I always thought I did something wrong when she was little. She just never quite fit with what all the other Burg girls were doing. She was jumping off the garage and running people over that were standing on sidewalks. I've spent so many years trying to make her fit into the mold every Burg girl dreams to be. I never stopped to think that her dreams might be something else. It just didn't occur to me that was even possible. I listened to everything you said on Friday, Stephanie, but I think somewhere in the back of my mind I was still holding onto a hope that you would wake up one morning and realize you were throwing all your dreams away with the crazy idea of being a bounty hunter. It's not crazy, it's you," she said. I was speechless for several minutes.

"I jumped off the roof because I wanted to know how it felt to fly. And I didn't run people over, I ran Joe over for taking my virginity on the floor of the Tasty Pastry and walking away. I didn't fit into the mold, Mom, because when all the other girls were dreaming about growing up, getting married, having children, and how to entertain parties of forty, I was secretly dreaming about getting irradiated like Spiderman and to be able to fly like Superman," I told her, getting a smile from grandma. "Oh and Mom, I use to dress Barbie up without any underpants." She started laughing.

"Of course you did. I'm sorry I interrupted. Get back to the case, and I'll get everybody some lunch," she said, turning back to her counter. She whipped back around and leveled a look at Ranger. "Carlos, what should I make you? Do you have any favorites?" Joe's mouth dropped open, and I stifled a giggle.

"What ever you're making is fine," Ranger said, smiling his 200-watt smile at her. She nodded and turned back to making lunch. "So what was in the envelope?" he asked, getting back to business.

Joe cleared his throat and slid the folder across the table to me. I looked down at the folder and willed myself to open it. Ranger squeezed my thigh, and I looked at him. He gave me a slight smile and nodded at the folder. I opened it and on the top was a typed letter in clear plastic. '_Are you scared yet? Fear is a funny thing. Did you know the most common fear is being buried alive? Could you image such a death? Slowly suffocating. Slowly loosing the will to fight. Knowing that nobody can hear you pounding and screaming. Sadly Sarah didn't die of suffocation, but she did slowly loose the will to fight. It's amazing how much blood there is in a person._' I took a deep breath and turned to the next plastic wrapped page. It was a picture of Sarah. All I saw was blood, cuts, and an excruciatingly painful expression on her face. She was still alive in the picture. She was hanging from her bound hands. Just dangling. There was a large tray below her catching all the blood running down her naked body. I shut the folder. I didn't need to see the rest of the pictures. I closed my eyes and put my hand over my mouth. I swallowed hard fighting the ice cream back that was threatening to make an appearance.

"How much blood are we talking 'cause there was a lot in my car?" I asked. I didn't think a human could have that much blood.

"The ME said probably a gallon and a half, judging by her size," Joe said taking the folder back.

"A gallon and a half? There was way more than that, and I only saw if for a moment. Hell I think there was more than that surrounding Lula," I said, confused.

"Yeah that's why I'm waiting for the lab results. It's just a guess, but we're thinking there was more like five plus gallons in your car," he said. He looked at me and flinched slightly. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it's going to take awhile before you'll get your car back, and I really don't think you'll ever be able to completely get the blood out."

"I don't plan to ever drive the damn car again. It may not have had a dead person in it, but a dead person's blood is close enough. It's full of death cooties now," I said, shaking my head. First a couch now a car. "I think I'll take Lula and go car shopping today. Shopping and dessert is exactly what the doctor ordered. I'm sure Lula will agree. She might need a hair appointment too. I'm sure the blood was hell to get out."

Joe smiled. "I'm sure your guard dogs will just love a day of hair appointments and shopping," he said, with a chuckle.

"What guard dogs?" I asked.

"Babe." I looked at him and shook my head. "Please," he said, with soft eyes.

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked away from those eyes. "Not going to work this time Ranger. And don't you dare go behind my back and have your men tail me anyways. I won't forgive you for that this time," I said, looking back at Ranger.

"Now wait just a minute," my mom said, setting chicken salad sandwiches in front of us all. "Explain to me what's going on, and why Carlos has men tailing you to begin with."

"I want to know why you would refuse to have all those hunky men following you around all day," grandma added. I rolled my eyes. One direction mind that woman has.

"Mom, I don't need Ranger's men following me around. This guy has never approached me, has never threatened me, has…"

"Stephanie Plum, I didn't ask what he hasn't done. I want to know what he has done."

"He left me a note on Monday. It had my name on the paper and that's it. A woman by the name of Sarah saw the guy from a distance and gave us somewhere to start. The next day Sarah's dead body was stuffed in a box and left on Lula's passenger seat. And he left me another note basically saying it was my fault Sarah was dead because I involved her. Today he left blood in my car and another note talking about fear and Sarah's death," I told her.

"Let me see that note Joseph," she said, and Joe opened the folder. She read the note and her eyes got big. She aimed a look at me, and I knew she was about to lay down the law. "You better put your pride aside and deal with those men guarding you. This man is clearly off his rocker. Why in God's name would you refuse to have the extra security? Do you honestly think you and Lula are so good that you can handle anything? Didn't you just say on Friday you learned that asking for help isn't a bad thing? You should not only be asking, but begging. Don't you value your life at all? You speak of not forgiving Carlos if he orders his men to tail you, well you listen to me young lady. I will never serve you another bite of dessert as long as I live if you keep Carlos from keeping you safe."

I sighed and looked at Ranger. I was just about to give in and tell him he could have me tailed again when he shook his head. I raised an eyebrow.

"No it's okay, Mrs. Plum. I don't want Stephanie to feel forced to have the guards. I want her to accept the guards of her own free will," he said, locking eyes with me.

I stared into his eyes forgetting all about the other three people in the room. His eyes pulled me in. They always did. A pager went off and broke the trance. I looked at Morelli as he was ripping the thing off his hip. He read the read out and clipped it back on.

"I gotta go. I'll let you know about the results on the blood," he said as he stood up. He stopped in front of me and gently tucked a curl behind my ear. "Be careful, Cupcake." And he was gone.

We silently ate lunch, which was an odd occurrence for the Plum household. Dad came home during our meal and joined us. Now for him a silent meal was normal. He never really said anything but comments about grandma or to pass the gravy. I think he was disturbed by the silence, though. He kept looking around like he was just waiting for something to happen. An outburst of some sort. A sexual comment from grandma. Anything that would indicate he was in the right home. It never happened. The silence continued all the way up to mom clearing the table. Dad scratched his head, gave a final look around, and left for the living room to settle in front of the TV. Ranger and I said our goodbyes and we headed for the Turbo. I slid in the seat and stared out the window.

"Where to, Babe?" he asked, starting the car.

"Home." I was emotionally drained, and I really couldn't take anymore. My eyes hurt from crying, my heart hurt for Sarah and Carolyn, and my head hurt from all the information shoved at me.

"Is Lester's reaction at the gun ranger this morning the only reason you pulled the plug on guard duty?" I looked at him feeling slightly ashamed. Of course he would know about that. Les probably called him right away and told him everything.

"I was mad. He was treating me like a child. He gave me orders, like he had that right," I said, looking out the side window.

Ranger took a deep breath and let it out. "Maybe he overreacted, but it's his job to overreact. I pay him to know everything at all times. You kept him from understanding the situation. You let your pride and independence overshadow your safety. Your safety is my top priority at all times. _You_ are my top priority. My men know that. They will jump in front of a bullet to keep you safe. They not only do it for me, but for you, too. They respect you and care about you. You and Lester seem to have become quite close over the last several days, so I'm sure he's feeling even more protective of you," he said. "You made him mad too, Babe. He didn't appreciate being told he only thought of you as my piece of ass." I flinched.

"That's not what I said, but that's how it felt," I said.

"Lester didn't see the guy as a threat to me, Steph. He saw the guy as a potential threat to your safety. He didn't know him, he didn't know what was being said, and he couldn't see your face until you looked at him. By that point it could have been too late." I looked at my hands and felt like I was being scolded. Like I was a child. I looked up at him. He stopped at a red light and looked at me. How could he treat me like this?

"Until you understand Lester's reaction you will constantly make his and any of my men's jobs difficult. You need to see what he saw. Can you please try to understand things from his perspective?" he asked, and I gave a slight nod. The light turned green.

"All he saw was some guy walking up to you and putting his arm around you. He couldn't see either of your faces from his position, so he called. And you ignored him. Do you have any idea what was running through his head when you wouldn't answer your cell? It only takes a second to kill somebody. He wouldn't have got to you in time, no matter how fast he ran. And he couldn't shoot for two reasons. He was behind a bullet proof screen, and there were too many people in his way. You scared the shit out of him. That's why he reacted the way he did. It may not have been the best reaction to use with you, but it was how he felt." I blinked back the tears stinging my eyes. It was official. I'm a spoiled rotten little brat.

"I'm fine with the guards, and I'll apologize to Les," I said, staring out the front window.

Ranger pulled over on the side of the road and turned to me. He took my chin gently in his hand and turned my face to look at him. He stared into my eyes for a second and smiled slightly. "He's not expecting an apology. He just wants you to be safe," he said. I nodded my head slowly and gave him a tight smile. "If you don't truly want the guards I won't assign them. You'll see me a lot, but no guards. I want you to be okay with it."

I leaned forward and kissed him softly. "I'm okay with it. I get it, and I shouldn't have pulled the plug to begin with." He nodded and pulled back onto the road. I really owed Lester and apology for my behavior. It will have to be much later, though. I was too tired to think about it. I closed my eyes letting the gentle vibration of the motor put me to sleep.

"Babe," I heard through the fog in my head. A soft finger traced my jaw line and the fog was slowly fading. "Babe," the voice said again. "We're home, Steph."

I opened my eyes looking directing into Ranger's. He was inches from my face. I could feel his breath on my lips. I unconsciously licked them, and watched his eyes turn black. I leaned forward closing the distance and kissed him. It was slow and suggestive. I pulled back and gave him a naughty smile. He gave me a look that told me I had mere seconds to get to my apartment. I giggled and ran for the apartment. He was hot on my tail and half way up the second flight of stairs he threw me over his shoulder. I guess I wasn't moving fast enough. I ran my hands down his back and grabbed two handfuls of perfectly sculpted ass.

"Babe," he said, with amusement.

"What it's right here in my face. I had to touch. It was begging me to touch. 'Stephanie, please grab me,'" I said, in a deep tone giggling. He put me down in front of my apartment door and held me in place with his body. His eyes were laughing as he unlocked the door. He dropped a hungry kiss to my lips and picked me up by my butt. I wrapped my legs around him squeezing us together. I pulled out of the kiss and smiled at him. He lifted an eyebrow at me.

"I'm feeling like I need a shower," I said, grinning. He gave me a devilish smile carrying me into the bathroom.

An hour later Ranger was dropping me off at the car dealership to meet Lula. A salesman rushed out as soon as Ranger pulled in the parking lot in the Turbo. I chuckled and looked at Ranger. He didn't look pleased to be leaving me there. I leaned over the center console and kissed him long and hard. I pulled out of the kiss and jumped out of the car. Tank pulled up in the Sonoma just as I shut the door. The salesman was drooling by that point. Both men gave us a final look and left. The salesman's mouth dropped open and you could see he was crying on the inside for the massive commission he just lost. I had made up my mind long before getting to the dealership on the kind of vehicle I was getting. I'd only had one car that lasted throughout my bounty hunting life. One car that seemed to be built like a tank.

"I need a Buick," I said, causing Lula to laugh.

"A Buick? Lady you just got out of a Porsche and you want a Buick?" the salesman said, bewildered.

"Yes, but the Buick holds better chances of not being squashed by a garbage truck," Lula said, laughing again.

"So got any Buicks?" I asked again, hands on my hips.

"Sure we have plenty of Buicks. Are you looking to buy or lease?" he asked leading us to the left side of the lot.

"Lease."

"About time you figured that out girl," Lula said, from next to me.

"Then you want brand new I'm assuming," he said, and I nodded. "We got in few new Buicks last week. This is a Century," he said stopping in front of a metallic green four door car. It was nice car in all, but I wasn't feeling it. It felt old. I shook my head no and we moved on. We passed the same car in red and black. The black one held me for a moment, but I still didn't feel it. He was stopped between two cars when I caught up. One was black the other silverish blue. It was another four door car. It didn't feel as big and was slightly sportier, but I still wasn't feeling it. I really hoped things started looking up soon. The Buick wasn't winning me over in any way. I shook my head again and he signed moving on. He stopped in front of a white boat. What was he thinking?

"Man, she said no to the first two granny and gramps cars, what makes you think she wants that boat behind you? That thing is huge. Find my girl something else," Lula said, arms crossed over her massive chest while tapping her Marc Fisher leopard print platform fuck me pumps.

He nodded his head and moved on looking slightly agitated. He bypassed a midnight blue four door car. What was it with Buick and all the boats? Do they make a normal sized four door car? What about a sports car? We rounded the corner and came to a stop in front of a storm gray SUV. Now we were talking. I nodded my head and smiled. He let out a shaky breath, and I had to chuckle. Guess he was intimidated by Lula. She grinned and rocked back on her heels.

"This the only color?" I asked. I wasn't sold on the gray, but I'd take it if that was all there was. He shook his head and stepped off to the side of the SUV and pointed. I moved by him and saw a line of the same SUV in all different colors. There was mossy green, white, red, indigo, and black. The gray and green had an icky brown interior. The other colors had a soft gray interior.

"This is a Buick Rendezvous. It comes in two wheel drive and all wheel drive. What would you like?" he asked.

"All wheel drive," I said, standing next to the indigo one. He explained the gray, white, and indigo were my choices. The white was too bright. So I indicated to the indigo. He unlocked the doors and we took her for a spin. I loved it. Smooth ride. Plus it was loaded. It had all the bells and whistles. He explained it was special ordered, but the guy didn't like it once he got in it. I didn't know how anybody couldn't like it. Leather interior, seven person seating, separate air control for driver and passenger, cruise control, trip computer that I didn't know what to do with, CD changer, DVD player, hands free cell, second row sound controls, sub-woofer, power seats, heated seats, memory seats, second and third row removable seats, and a power sunroof. What's not to like?

It took over an hour to get all the paperwork situated. The selling price for the car was close to thirty thousand, but I got them down to around twenty for the lease price. After all it was loaded so the retail price when the lease was up would still be pretty high. I gave them seventy-five hundred for a down payment, and Lula and I left for our work-free day. She immediately got the sound to her liking as I drove to the post office. I was expecting my Halloween costume I ordered a few weeks before. I was excited for Halloween. I was handing out candy at my parents' like always. Well I think that was what I was still doing. Ranger and I weren't seeing each other when I decided on my plans. Ranger didn't strike me as the Halloween dressing up type, though.

While I retrieved my package Lula called the office. There weren't any new files, so we were off to the salon. Lula was having her hair done and I was getting the long over due manicure and pedicure. It started to lightly rain again when we pulled in front of the salon on Hamilton. No sun and overcast I can handle, but the rain was driving me insane. A black SUV pulled up behind us and I saw Lester through the window. He winked at me, and I smiled. No apologies needed. We understood. He was wrong, and I was wrong. Now we were fine. Lester and Tony followed us in. They sat reading Cosmo while getting ogled at. It was quite a sight. After fifteen minutes Woody and Ike walked in for shift change. Lester kissed my forehead and left. I knew he couldn't always guard me, but I felt more comfortable with him. Woody and Ike looked around at all the women staring and high-tailed it out to their Explorer to wait.

We left the salon an hour later and hit Macy's. There was a major clearance on shoes that we couldn't miss. The guys didn't look at all happy about this. They had to stick with me since it wasn't a controlled environment. This was why I wanted Lester. Even Ace, Bobby, or Hal would have been more fun. They would have adapted and helped us pick out shoes. Woody and Ike stood off to the side observing around us, but they were obvious. Anybody within twenty yards could tell they were guarding somebody. The poor shoes salesman didn't want to approach us for fear of being harmed.

"Could you two relax a bit," I said, over my shoulder. They looked at me with no expression. My cell rang as I turned back to the young guy helping me.

"Yo."

"Yo yourself, Babe. I thought Woody was going to die when he reported in you were at the mall," he said, chuckling. "Woody has a RangeMan credit card, and he is to purchase anything you need to get yourself ready for a date tonight. Tank and I will be at the mall at six thirty to pick you two up. We're going to that restaurant down the street from your apartment; Toni's. It's coat and tie, so that should help you with your dress," he said, just as a woman came up to help Lula with shoes. Woody and Ike stopped her progress when they stepped up closer to Lula.

"Hey chill out and get the damn stick out of your ass," Lula said. Their no expression turned to a death glare. It didn't faze Lula one little bit. "Huh you think that look worries me. My man's the size of the two of you but together. If I ain't scared of him I sure as hell ain't sacred of you stiff asses." She waved the saleslady over ignoring Woody's protests of needing to search her.

"What's going on?" Ranger asked.

"Your men need to relax and blend in. They are scaring the customers and sales people," I said, looking over my shoulder. "I can't go to Toni's, Ranger. I need hours to get ready. You're giving me just over an hour to find the perfect dress and shoes. Not to mention I need to do my makeup and hair. I can't do that at the mall."

"You'll look incredible. You always do. Six thirty, Babe, in the parking lot." And he was gone.

"Those are two of the finest men I've ever seen," the saleslady said, from in front of Lula. The man in front of me nodded vigorously.

"Can you hold those shoes for us? We have to find dresses first. We'll be back," I said, and dragged Lula out of the shoes department. "Tank and Ranger are taking us out on a date tonight. We need to get ready. We have until six thirty, which is when we are to meet them in the parking lot."

Lula smiled. It really was a sweet gesture. I smiled back and we ran to the women's department.

We grabbed a handful of dresses and ran to the dressing rooms with two salesladies hot on our heels. Dresses were being tossed back and forth over the top of the doors. After ten minutes we each had a dress and headed back to the shoes department. I spotted the perfect black satin t-strap fuck me pumps with a three and three quarter inch heel. It took Lula approximately five seconds after me to spot a pair of black satin ankle strap sandals with gold fringe accents and a four inch heel. We booked it to the makeup department after getting our shoes. I planned on buying what I needed and putting it on myself in the bathroom, but Lula thought it would be fun to get our makeup done for us. I grudgingly agreed to it and plopped my ass in the seat. It was embarrassing to sit in that chair to have my makeup done. I'd been doing my own makeup since I could ride a bike. The girls worked quickly since we were on a time restraint and did Jersey proud.

I jumped out of the chair and ran to Sears, buying all the hair product equipment I needed to tame the beast. We headed for a bathroom after that with our multiple bags. We hung up our dresses and started on my hair. Lula was lucky since she just had her hair done. Between the two of us, my hair turned out great, well as great as possible without washing it and starting fresh. I didn't want to ruin the makeup so that wasn't an option. We each took our dresses and shoes into a stall to get changed. I was wearing a satin floral print halter dress. The dress was white with black flowers. It had an empire waist band and a skirt hem. The skirt was full and a tulle ruffle peeked out at the hem. It was sexy and clung in all the right places. I came out of the stall and touched up my hair and makeup while waiting for Lula. We had ten minutes to get to the parking lot.

"Huh, well ain't this something," Lula said, looking me over. "Damn we look hot. Nobody would ever know we got ready at the mall."

She was right, we did look hot. Her dress was beautiful and fun. Perfect for her, yet still fitting for the nice restaurant we were going to. It was a halter dress, with black and gold lace at the bust and a sheer ruffle trim along the v-neckline. There was a satin ribbon trim below the bust in gold and the skirt was layered tulle. I could never pull it off, but Lula looked great and I told her so.

We left the bathroom and met Woody and Ike on the other side. Both guys smiled and muttered how great we looked. We hurried through the mall for the parking lot. Many eyes followed us, but nobody approached. Woody and Ike were very serious about guard duty. They wouldn't let anybody within five yards of us. The guys were leaning against the Buick when we arrived. I think Tank's jaw actually dropped. I smiled and looked at Lula again. She really did look amazing. I looked back at Ranger and he was looking me up and down like dessert. He closed the distance between us and touched my lips with his. It wasn't a kiss, it was a touch, and it made me weak in the knees. He stepped closer wrapping his arms around my waist. We were touching from lips to knees. I parted my lips just slightly, parting his at same time. He still wasn't kissing me. There was no pressure, no movement.

"You look beautiful, Babe," he said, against my lips. I smiled and he softly kissed me. We separated a little, and I noticed Tank and Lula were staring at us. Mouths open doing the fish thing. I looked around and saw the guys staring and a few people leaving or arriving, staring at us, too. Damn! Ranger chuckled and guided me to the passenger door.

"You two put off more electricity than the entire damn mall," Tank said, on his way past us to the Sonoma with Lula.

"A Buick," he said, sliding into the driver's seat. I smiled. "Quite fitting, and fully loaded. I like." He took my hand and kissed the center of my palm. I felt a zing go straight to my center. "Tomorrow's going to be slightly different. I hope you're okay with it."

"Why is it going to be different?" I asked.

"Different people guarding you. No Lester tomorrow," he said, looking at me out the corner of his eye.

"Is he off tomorrow?" I asked, not liking the sound of this.

"No he's in the control room tomorrow."

"Can't you just change people around? I trust Les, and I'm comfortable with him," I said. I quickly realized how that sounded and amended my statement. "It's not that I don't trust the other guys. It's just that the comfort level isn't there. Woody and Ike were horrible at the mall. Les would have adapted and blended in. I think I stood out more because they were so obvious."

Ranger nodded. "I'll talk to the guys about blending in, but Lester has to do control duty. It's not fair to the other guys if he's always in the field. As it is he got one more day than he normally would get because I could see you were attached," he said, squeezing my hand. I turned my head and looked out the window. I didn't like this. Not one bit. I spend most of my day with the first shift. I could deal with a few hours of annoyance, but not most of my day.

"I didn't tell you this to ruin your night, Babe."

"You didn't ruin anything. I just have to deal with it. Who do I get tomorrow?" I said, looking at him trying to smile.

"Van and Bobby will meet you at the gym at eight," he said, smiling. I smacked him. He did that on purpose. I thought I was spending my day with a stiff ass, but instead I got Bobby. I didn't know Van very well, but I loved Bobby. "Woody and David will relieve them." Uhg, Woody again.

"Woody's too stiff," I said, without thinking. The corners of Ranger's lips tipped up. I rolled my eyes. "You know what I mean."

"Maybe now you understand why he got the nickname," he said, laughing as he pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant. "He's good at his job, though. He won't let anybody get anywhere near you, Babe. And that's what I want."

"Yeah including gay guys helping me with my shoes," I said, as we walked into the restaurant.

We were seated quickly and Ranger ordered a bottle of Planeta Marlot right out of Sicily. The restaurant was small, but beautiful. The place only seated about thirty-five, and it was packed. How Ranger got us same day reservations I'd never know. The waiter came back with the bottle and uncorked it. He poured a little into Ranger's goblet for him taste, and then filled all the glasses.

"You two had a pretty bad morning, so we wanted to bring you out for a nice stress-free evening," Ranger said, picking his goblet up off the ivory linen table cloth. We all raised our glasses. "To the start..." All our cell phones rang disturbing the nice romantic evening.


	13. Chapter Twelve

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Twelve**

We all slowly lowered our wine glasses. I looked around the restaurant and realized we were attracting quite a bit of attention, even from our corner table. I was pretty sure nobody seated in the formal upper class restaurant had the crazy lives we all had. I reached in my black little bag for my cell. Morelli.

"Yeah?" Jeez could his timing be any worse. I looked up at Ranger and saw he didn't look happy about whatever he was learning. I could hear Tank mumbling and Lula uh huhing.

"Cupcake, got some news," he said.

"Uh huh, so spit it out. I'm at dinner," I said. I should have turned my cell off.

"Sorry, you haven't started eating yet have you?" he asked. There was a strain to his voice. I looked back at Ranger. He was off the phone and talking with Tank, but keeping an eye on me.

"No get on with it."

"You know I didn't have to call you right when I found out. I could have just waited until shift tomorrow. I'm giving you a courtesy call here. At least return the courtesy," he said, his voice snappy.

"Sorry, Joe. I've had a rough day and I was really looking forward to this nice evening with Ranger, Lula, and Tank. I didn't mean to sound ungrateful for the call. What's up?"

Ranger stopped his conversation with Tank and cocked and eyebrow at me.

"There was a present left for you in your trunk, and I got the results back on the blood."

"And?"

"There were three pigs butchered and drained of all their blood in your trunk. The blood belonged to Sarah and the pigs," he explained.

"So we're looking for the big bad wolf?" I asked, getting two raised eyebrows from Ranger.

"This isn't funny, Steph. You should be scared."

"Joe, give me a break here. I'm trying really hard to take this seriously, but honestly. From what I can see my psycho has a sense of humor. Were they three little pigs?" I asked, fighting the grin that was spreading across my lips.

He hung up on me. Jeez. I held up a finger to Ranger without looking at him. I push in five on my cell to speed dial Morelli's cell. He picked up after two rings.

"What?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry. Can we just agree to disagree on this one and move on? I promise not to giggle out loud, if you promise not to tell me over and over again how scared I should be," I said, grinning.

"Are you scared, Cupcake?"

He was scared for me. My tummy got squishy and I smiled. He really did love me.

"I am, but I'm trying to deal with this the only way I know how. If you try to change the way I'm dealing with this then I'll start yelling at people that aren't there again. I'm trying to keep my head, Joe, so please let me do this my way."

"I'm trying. I really am, but this kills me. I don't like that somebody else is after you again. I love you, and I don't want you hurt. It's only been two and a half months since your last life threatening situation. If you remember correctly the man sitting next to you is the one that put you into the life threatening situation."

Like I needed the reminder. I remembered everything that happened a few months back like it was yesterday. Ranger may have asked for me to help, but I could have turned him down. He didn't put me in danger as much as I put myself there. He would have helped me without a second thought if the roles would have been reversed. I didn't know if Joe would have done the same thing. He knew there was an FBI agent posing as a wannabe bounty hunter at Vinnie's after all and didn't say a damn word. He didn't even feel bad about throwing me under the bus either. He was a cop and he'd always be a cop. He'd always thought cop first and boyfriend second.

"Look I'm scared, you know I am. I just don't deal with things the same way you do. I know you love me, Joe, and you don't want me to get hurt. I'm taking this threat seriously, I just find a little bit humor in the last development," I said, looking down at the candlelit table. The light was bouncing off the crystal stemware filled with wine. Wine we were just toasting with. I looked up at Ranger. He didn't look happy. In fact nobody at my table looked happy.

"Do you have anything further to tell me about the case? If not this conversation is over," I said, with my voice low.

"No, I have nothing to tell you," he said.

"And I think you're lying," I said, and hung up. I looked up at my dates for the evening with an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry. That was beyond rude of me. I shouldn't have called him back."

"What did he want?" Ranger asked, and I knew he was upset. He went out of his way to take me out tonight, and I sat on the phone talking with my ex.

"To tell me there were three butchered pigs in my trunk and that the blood was Sarah's mixed with the pigs'," I said, taking a sip of my wine. No point in a toast now. The evening was shot to hell.

"That it? He didn't have anything else to tell you?" Ranger asked, with raised brows. I shook my head. "Interesting. Would you like to know what my call was about?" I nodded. "It seems the owners of Marksman's turned over the video surveillance of the parking lot to Morelli this morning."

I felt my face heat up. That lying no good scum sucker. I opened my mouth to respond with my thoughts on the matter when the waiter showed up. We all ordered and the rest of the evening was silent. We ate quickly, drank little, and talked none. I completely ruined the evening. Morelli was so going to pay for this. Our share all was now over. He can solve his case on his own. I was going to do my thing like I always did, and he could shove it. I'd declared war. He not only was messing with my love life, but my safety. I had men and Lula risking their necks standing next to me and he was hiding shit. 'Stephanie I love you. I want you to be safe, Cupcake.' Safe my ass.

Ranger paid for the meal and we left in my Buick. The two minute ride seemed like it just might go on forever. The tension in the car was thick. It would appear to the normal eye that Ranger was just in his zone, but I could tell he was far from his zone. He was angry. His jaw was twitching ever so slightly and his nostrils were flared a little. His blank mask wasn't quite in place tonight. Either that or I was beginning to read him better. In fact I knew I could read him better. I was pretty sure one of his vehicles would be positioned in my guest spot when we got to my apartment. I had a feeling I'd be sleeping alone tonight. And if that was the case Morelli was getting a call so I could rip him a new asshole.

We pulled through the gates and just as I suspected, Ranger's truck was parked in my guest spot. I blinked back the tears threatening to fall. There was no reason to cry. So I completely ruined a beautiful night. So I was sleeping alone after the ruined beautiful night. No reason to cry. I removed my seat belt and climbed out of my SUV. I walked around the front of the vehicle and gave Ranger a tight smile. He handed me my keys and raised an eyebrow at me. Not sure what that was about.

"Do you want me to leave?" Ranger asked, looking at me curiously.

"No," I said, eyes wide. "I don't want you to leave. I thought that…" My voice trailed off as I looked at his truck behind him.

"The truck was here before the date from hell," he said, smiling slightly. He stepped forward and cupped my cheek gently. "Let's go inside, Babe."

We took the elevator instead of the stairs. Maybe formal wear was above the stairs, or maybe Ranger couldn't be bothered with using excess energy to climb three flights. I just followed his lead and leaned against the back wall for the silent ride. Riding anywhere in silence was a normal affair, but tonight it felt different. The tension was a little less than in the car ride, but it was still there.

Ranger opened my apartment door and held it open for me to enter first. I walked straight to the kitchen and checked on Rex. He was busy running off his food on his treadmill. I tapped the side and got a moment pause and a whisker twitch before he went back to his running. I put some hamster pellets and a few raisins in his tank. I grabbed a Corona out of the fridge and headed to my bedroom. I was avoiding Ranger. I knew tonight was going to turn ugly, and I was good at avoidance. I didn't want to fight with him since I was bound to revert to my old habits. Problems equal run away in other words.

Ranger was already stripped down to just his pants when I got in my room. I hesitated for just a second before entering. He looked up at me and smiled slightly before taking my beer and kissing me softly on the lips. I rolled my eyes and went to get another one.

"I'm a little surprised," I said, when I came back in the bedroom with my beer.

"About," he said, taking a drink and sitting his beer down. He took the gun out of the back of his pants and laid it on the nightstand.

I pointed to him and waved my finger up and down his body. He grinned slightly and got up, moving towards me. He took my beer and sat it on the dresser I was standing next to. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me tight against his bare chest. He lowered his lips to mine, kissing me firmly, possessively. I tilted my head deepening the kiss. He lifted me off the ground and carried me to the bed. I was naked before I knew it and being placed gently in the middle of my bed. Ranger framed my face in his hands looking down at me. I could feel him pressed against my inner thigh, hard and ready. He wrapped a curl around his finger while watching me. My stomach flipped by the intensity of his gaze.

"Tonight didn't go how I planned, but nothing ever does when you're involved," he said, kissing my forehead. I was pretty sure I was just insulted, and I should get angry, but considering the position I was in I couldn't quite work up a proper attitude.

"It wasn't an insult, Babe. Just a fact. I wanted to take you out tonight and let you relax. I wanted you to eat your favorite foods, drink great wine, laugh with people who love you, and at the end of the night I wanted to take you to bed and show you just how important you are to me. Enter Morelli," he said. I felt tears well up in my eyes. "I saw the smile, Steph. I know that smile. I don't know what he was saying to you, and I don't want to know. It's none of my business. I know you still love him. And I know you will for a while, but what I don't know is what that means."

"You want to talk about this right now?" I asked, looking down at our very naked bodies.

"Yes. Nothing more happens until we get some things figured out."

"It doesn't mean anything, Ranger. I love him yes, but it doesn't mean anything. The love that I had for him a few months back isn't there anymore. I lost that somewhere in the time he was gone. I love him, but I'm not in love with him. I still have the feelings, that could rekindle that love I had for him, but it's not going to happen. And those feelings will dwindle as time passes. The love will turn to a friendship love only," I said, running my hands down his back. "I don't want him Ranger. I want you. _Only you_."

He leaned down and kissed me, his tongue seeking out mine. I shifted under him, positioning him where I really wanted him. He slid into me just a little and stopped. I groaned and tried to lift up, but his hand on my hip prevented any movement from me.

"I don't know what kind of commitments you and Morelli had when you were in a relationship. You allowed me to pursue you, to apply pressure. But as long as I'm in your bed I won't be pursuing anybody else. I expect the same treatment. I will not share you. If Morelli ever kisses you again it won't be pretty. If I'm really who you want then I'm committed to you and only you. Is this what you want?" he asked, looking me straight in the eyes.

My mouth dropped open. He was committed to me if I wanted it. A tear leaked out of my eye and another followed. He took his hand off my hip and cupped my face. I lifted my hips and he slid all the way in. We both moaned, and I captured his lips with mine. He held my face kissing me back. I wiggled trying to get him to move inside me, but he pushed me down into the mattress, holding my body still with his weight.

"_You_. I only want you," I whispered against his lips.

He smiled slightly and ran his hand down the side of my body, brushing every sensitive part on the way. He stopped at my hip squeezing it lightly before running his hand under my ass and up the back of my thigh. I wrapped my leg around his hip pulling us closer. I was aching of him and he was busy touching. He smiled against my lips like he knew what I was thinking.

"I love you, Stephanie," he said looking into my eyes and then we made slow sweet love. It was different than anything I'd ever experienced. It wasn't about how fast we could reach that ultimate orgasm, it was about never wanting it to be over. It was like a slow simmer, knowing the results would be so much sweeter if it heated up just a little more.

I remembered talking softly to each other, tangled up sharing a pillow one minute and a phone ringing and vibrating the next. I stirred finding myself looking down into Ranger's brown eyes. He wrapped an arm around me and grabbed his cell. I seemed to be on top of him, like I normally was when we woke up next to each other. My body just seemed to float to his.

"Yo," he said, locking eyes with me and giving me a slight smile.

I looked at the alarm clock, five o'clock in the freaking morning. Don't these people know we were up all night and that we didn't have to be up for another twenty minutes? I valued my few minutes of sleep. I felt Ranger stiffen under me, and not in a good way. I looked back down at him and he looked pissed.

"Sign for it and bring it up," he ordered and snapped his phone shut.

"Problems?"

"That was Mikael from the guard station. A courier just brought a package for Stephanie Plum," he said, lifting us up off the bed. "We need to get dressed. He'll be up here in a minute." Dang. "You want to call Morelli?" he asked, pulling sweats on.

"Nope," I said, while digging in my drawer.

"Babe?"

"If this has to do with the case then I'll forward the information on, but other wise it's not his business."

"Steph, when I said I won't share you I didn't mean Joe has to be cut from your life. I meant I won't share you romantically or sexually. He'd want to know about this," he said, stopping my movements.

"He'll always be in my life, Ranger. I know you would never ask me to remove him. That's something Joe would do, not you. I'm pissed at him, so I don't want him to know," I said, and kissed him just as the door bell rang.

Ranger left to answer the door, and I finished getting ready. I quickly did my thing in the bathroom and rushed out to find Ranger. He was standing in the kitchen holding the manila envelope. If I never had to see another one of those it would be too soon. He handed it to me, and I took it after a brief pause to debate if I really wanted to know what was inside. I opened it and peaked inside. There was a plain piece of paper and a newspaper. I took out the paper first figuring it was a note explaining the newspaper. Ranger was looking over my shoulder as I pulled it out. I looked down at the typed note knowing it was from my psycho big bad wolf stalker.

'_Do you feel safe in your new home Stephanie Plum? Guarded and gated entrance. Cameras everywhere. More specifically one on the gate, four on the grounds, and let's not even get into how many are on the inside. You should know you're far from safe. It doesn't matter how many cameras are watching you, how many guards are watching out for you, or how many guns are surrounding you, nobody can protect you. Maybe you need a reason to fully understand how unsafe you really are. It doesn't matter where you move to or where you hide I can find you, and I can get to you. How was dinner last night? You didn't seem happy when you left. I would think after a bottle of Planeta Marlot you would be skipping. Remember, I have eyes everywhere.'_

I swallowed hard and tried to control the shaking that took over my body as I read through the note. He was at the restaurant last night. He knew where I lived. He knew about the security. I sat the note down and took out the newspaper. I looked over my shoulder at Ranger, and he was wearing his blank face. Yeah I was feeling quite panicked and fearful myself. Wish I had a blank mask. At least then nobody would know I was shaking in my sneakers.

I opened the newspaper and stifled a scream. In bold black letters across the front page of The Times was, '_Bombshell Bounty Hunter Moves to Ewing.'_ There was a picture of me leaving the bond office with Lula and another picture next to it of me pulling out of the gate at the apartment complex. There was a short article following the pictures.

'_As of October 24, the infamous bounty hunter Stephanie Plum decided to relocate to Woodbrook House. The complex is secured by RangeMan LLC, a securities company owned by Carlos Manoso. Mr. Manoso and Ms. Plum were involved in the high profile kidnapping of Ms. Julie Martin, Mr. Manoso's daughter back in late August. Through combined efforts of Trenton's finest, the FBI, RangeMan, and Ms. Plum, Julie was returned safely to her mother and stepfather in Miami, FL. _

_When Ms. Plum isn't tracking down missing children, blowing up cars or funeral homes, or chasing after Trenton's miscreants, she's been linked to Trenton's homicide detective Joseph Morelli, but lately she has been seen in the company of Mr. Manoso in a more romantic setting rather than professional. Last evening they were seen at Toni's, an upscale restaurant in Ewing, having dinner with another couple. Maybe Trenton might be hearing wedding bells in the future. Trick or Treat Ms. Plum.'_

"What is this, a fucking gossip column? My mother is going to need a new bottle and a pill after this. I have to call her and warn her," I said, throwing the newspaper down and grabbing the phone.

"Hello?" my mother said after four rings.

"Mom."

"Stephanie? Are you okay? What's happened?"

"The newspaper has an article on me this morning. I just wanted to give you fair warning."

Ranger was on his cell behind me barking out orders. He hadn't said anything about the morning delivery. I wasn't so sure I was going to like what he was going to say. I had a feeling a panic button and twenty four hour in-house guards were on the list of orders being delivered.

"Article? What are you talking about?" my mother asked.

I could hear her moving around. I heard a door open and a paper making noise. Then the scream that made my ears bleed. _Thud_.

"Hot damn. You made the paper again. You must have some kind of record for the amount of front page articles you get. I thought you didn't want anybody to know where you live. Does this mean I can talk about you having all those hot men guarding you now at your new place down at the Cut and Curl?" my grandma asked.

"No Grandma. No talking about my new place. This story was leaked to the papers. They didn't mention my apartment number or that I'm using a different name, so it won't matter that anybody thinks that I live here. They won't get past the gate," I said and paused for a moment. "Did mom pass out?"

"Yep, no backbone that one. I don't know how I raised a daughter that faints so damn often. She's going to be ironing the toilet paper today. We'll have to unplug the phone. This is going to be the talk for weeks to come. You managed to pull something off without the Burg knowing. Can I at least tell everybody about that man stud you are doing the dirty with? That is one fine piece of equipment you are handling," grandma said.

Uhg. I needed to go back to bed and not wake up for a year or two.

"Grandma, this is what I want you to do. If anybody brings up anything about me, change the subject to the juiciest piece of gossip the Burg has right now that's not about me," I told her.

"I can do that. Did you hear about..."

"Grandma, I'm sure it's juicy so go with it. I have to get going. Have mom call me when she's mobile again."

"You ready, Babe?" Ranger asked, from the doorway fully clothed.

"Yep," I said, grabbing my stuff and following him out the door. "How many guards do I have now?"

"As many as it takes," he said, locking up.

"Ranger, how many?"

We got to the first floor and he still hadn't answered me. I looked at him, and he kept walking. He wasn't going to answer me. That equaled bad on my radar. We walked out the door and there was an Explorer parked behind Ranger's truck. I couldn't see who was in it. We got closer and Pat, I believe, jumped out the passenger side. Ranger threw him his truck keys, and he used my keys to beep open the Buick. We climbed in and led the caravan to the park.

Tank and Lula were waiting for us when we arrived. Everybody went into instant guard mode. I rolled my eyes and took a calming breath. Pat and Delyn were joining us on our run today. I counted to ten.

"I'll take lead. Tank and Lula on both sides of Steph. Delyn and Pat behind her. Keep your eyes open," Ranger said. I closed my eyes and counted to ten again. I grind my teeth the further I counted. Not working. "Babe?" Ranger said, looking at me.

"We need to talk about this," I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

"It's just two more people running with us."

"Maybe to you that's all it is, but to me it's far more than that."

"This freak was at the restaurant last night. We didn't even know. He could have shot you on the way to your car," Lula said.

"But he didn't."

"But he could have. And that's what we are trying to avoid. He's made it clear, Steph that you're not safe. We don't know what this guy is doing, so that's what's so scary about this. He could at any time just decide he's finished with playing this game and kill you. Stop fighting Ranger on the extra eyes and guns and think about what you getting killed would do to everybody else," she said.

Why was I so stubborn? I nodded my head and waited for Ranger to lead the way. I concentrated on the fresh air and beautiful trees. I ignored that I felt like the secret service was running with me. I ignored the embarrassment I felt. I was running in my favorite park after all. Ranger didn't insist I change my schedule and life because of the note and newspaper. He didn't insist and cause a fight to get me to run at RangeMan. He understood I still deserved to run outside. He understood _me_ really.

Now if I could only understand my psycho. He left me pigs. I wasn't sure how to take that. Clearly he was being funny. It wasn't really funny. More like sick and twisted. He seemed to be following some sort of planned out agenda. He clearly knew my every move. He let that be known each morning with different surprises in different areas of my schedule. He tagged the park, the gym, and the range. If I followed that thinking I assumed he was going to make contact with me at the office today, but clearly he felt an early morning wake-up call was more important. So he might not have a planned out agenda at all and tagging each stop just worked out that way. That didn't seem right, though. He seemed too controlling to not have a plan. The letters were about fear, to initiate fear in me. Really what he accomplished was pissing me off.

We slowed down to a jog and I finally took the time to watch Ranger's rear at work. I smiled remembering my hands gripping that sweet ass. He stiffened slightly and reached for his gun at the small of his back. It happened so fast, I was surrounded by gun wielding men and Lula. Ranger had his back to my front shielding me. Lula and Tank were snug against both sides of me, and Delyn and Pat were shielding my back. I was a Stephanie sandwich. I couldn't even get to my freaking gun.

"Hello I can't get to my gun," I said, as loud as I could. "I can participate in keeping myself alive you know. And I don't remember agreeing to any one of you sacrificing yourselves for me."

"Let's get you out of here," Ranger said. "I can feel him. I just can't see him. I don't like that."

"This feels too familiar," I said, taking Ranger's hand.

"Yeah tell me about it. Get your gun out, Babe," he said, shielding me.

"Stop doing that Ranger. Under no circumstances are you to jump in front of any bullets for me. I don't work without you. You die I might as well be dead," I said, my voice breaking at the end.

"Can't lose you," he said, tucking a curl behind my ear that came out of my ponytail. I took my gun out and we jogged back to the cars in a tight formation, with me sandwiched in the middle still.

"Harper and Cal will meet you at the gym. They'll watch your car while Delyn and Pat watch you. At eight Bobby and Van will take over. When you go to the gun range Bobby and Van will go in with you and Zero and Landon will watch your car. Tank and I have meetings this morning. I'll call you when I'm out, but I expect a phone call if something happens before then," he said, and kissed me softly on the lips.

"Ranger you're bleeding money again. You can't have four guys on me and two on Carolyn. That means you have even more contractors working," I said, shaking my head.

"Carolyn is settled now, so I don't I have twenty-four hour guards on her anymore. Zero and Landon will check on her later in the day. She has a cell that goes right to RangeMan and keys to a car for emergencies. She's safe," he said, leaning in closer to me. "The money means shit to me. I love you. I will spend all the money I have to keep you alive and safe. I want you in my bed every night, so I intend to make sure you are."

I grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him to me, kissing him hard with lots of tongue. I eased out of the kiss and rested my forehead against his, letting out a sigh.

"I have to go, Babe," he said, and kissed me lightly.

"I was thinking we could find ourselves a psycho today," Lula said, as I started the Buick.

"Yeah, I think that sounds like a good idea. I want to get Otto today, too."

"After we hit the range, we can stop in at the office, track down Otto and drag her ass to the clink, and then we need to find the big bad wolf," Lula said.

"We need to watch that surveillance tape from range. And I need to find out who delivered my package this morning so we can pay them a visit. We also need to talk to the newspaper editor and the Colemans. Morelli talked to them and has them under surveillance, but I want talk to them personally," I said, as I pulled into the gym parking lot. I parked in the empty spot next to Cal and Harper. I gave them a little finger wave and walked into the gym.

"Here comes the bride, with the tear stains in her eyes. With weeping in her voice for her love she cries," Tanner's baritone voice sang.

"Here comes the groom, with eyes like flames of fire. From his mouth proceeds a sword, proclaiming his desire," James jumped in singing along.

"His foe has offered her the world, but his words she won't believe. She's waiting for the lord of lords and the one who's king of kings. She's made herself ready. For her beloved, she waits. He's arriving on a horse of white to take her away. Then in his arms he'll take her, and draw her to his side. And with his tender hands of love, wipe each tear from her eyes. What a joy she shall have inside as she steps on streets of gold. The Prince of Peace has come at last, and now he takes her home," they sang dramatically together.

Delyn, Pat, Lula, and I stood rooted to our spots, mouths agape. I turned around and headed back out the door once I could get my feet to move again. I was dragged back inside by the back of my shirt and tossed out on the mats. Lula was laughing hysterically next to a grinning James. I glared at the men before me and mumbled about insane people before coffee.

"Here we thought you were going for the low profile thing," Tanner said, amused. "Did my invitation to the wedding get lost in the mail, baby."

I glared at him again. He knew damn well I wasn't getting married. I stripped off my sweatshirt and shoes and tossed them to the bench without replying. They all laughed again knowing I was pissed. Of course being pissed didn't get me anywhere. I spent the entire two hours getting teased about my upcoming wedding to Mr. Manoso. They did the Stephanie and Ranger sitting in a tree song several times with various modifications. I huffed and puffed throughout the time, but got nowhere. My guards were no help. They may be completely loyal to Ranger, but I think they actually thought torturing me about Ranger was funny. I was sure Ranger would hear all about my training from hell five minutes after walking out the door.

"I don't think you should wear white for the big day, baby," Tanner said, laughing while I packed up. "Cause you is far from virtuous."

My hand was itching to pull my gun. I hadn't decided who was getting shot yet, though. I was cruising to just take myself out and end the misery, but Tanner and James were pushing their luck. I shot them a glare over my shoulder instead and stomped out the door. I saw Bobby and Van in the place next to my car and acknowledged them with a nod of my head. I slammed my car door and listened to Lula snicker the entire way to her apartment.

"Find some humor in this white girl, or you're going to drive yourself insane. See you in forty-five," Lula said, and got out of my car.

Bobby and Van grinned at me the entire way up to my apartment, and I finally had it as I was unlocking the door. I slammed it in their faces before they had a chance to get through. I was pretty sure I nailed one of them with the knob. I heard the door open as I was dumping all my stuff on the kitchen table.

"Sorry, Hon," Bobby said, wrapping an arm around me. "Didn't realize how angry you were. Do you want me to shoot somebody?"

I laughed, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "No point. It wouldn't make me feel any better. Plus then I would have to go to the funeral, and I'm bad at funerals."

"I remember," Bobby said from behind me.

I jumped in the shower and danced around a little trying to get the temperature right. I quickly shampooed, conditioned, washed, shaved, and rinsed and jumped back out. I finger styled my hair, slapped on some makeup, threw on jeans and t-shirt, shoved my feet in sneakers, walked through Dolce Vita, and headed to the kitchen. Bobby and Van were kicked back, feet propped on my coffee table watching TV.

"You got a text message while you were showering," Bobby announced as I walked pass him.

I picked up my cell off the counter and opened the text message. The blood drained from my face.

'_Did you like the Article? I was kind enough to leave out the important information wasn't I Michelle Stephens in number 90. Oh and the shield of protection was cute this morning. I was almost tempted to prove my point that you're not safe no matter how many guards and guns surround you. Have a good day Ms. Plum.'_


	14. Chapter Thirteen

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Text messages from my psycho big bad wolf did not rank on the list of what I wanted to happen today. I scrolled down through the message looking for the number it came from. Blocked number. Nice.

"Bobby, my text message was from the psycho fuck stalking me," I said, walking out into the living room.

Bobby jumped off the couch and Van was on his phone. Calling the Batcave I'm sure. I handed Bobby my phone and watched him read the message. His eyes widened and he took the phone from Van.

"Not good, man. He knows she's renting under Michelle Stephens and she's in apartment ninety," Bobby said, and listened. "Blocked." He handed me back my phone and listened to orders from Ranger. He nodded his head occasionally and then handed the phone to me.

"Hey," I said.

"It's going to be alright, Babe. I won't let him get to you. Remember he still has to be announced. He won't get past the gate. Just for added security, Tank is on the phone with Hector as we speak. He'll be over today to install an alarm on both your doors," he said, in a calming voice.

"I forgot about the announcement part. That makes me feel slightly better, but still," I said.

"Yeah, but still. Just a sec," he said. I could hear muttering, but couldn't make out what anybody was saying. I think it was time I installed my own panic button. I walked into my bedroom indicating for Bobby and Van to follow me. I opened my closet and entered in the code for my safe. I took out my black handgun carrying case and a leather bag. I sat them on the bed just as Ranger came back on the phone.

"Babe, Hector will be there in an hour," he said. "I have a favor to ask."

"A favor? What is it?" I asked, utterly confused. Ranger didn't ask for favors, he gave orders and expected them to be followed.

"Wear a vest under a sweatshirt, please. Anytime you're out. Lula, too. The guys already have their orders to wear one."

"I promise. And you don't have to ask twice. I'm freaked. He's accomplished his goal. If I wasn't determined to figure out who he is, I'd be hiding in my apartment all day until he's found. I just have a feeling me hiding won't help. I have to be visible if we're to have any chance on catching this guy," I said, returning to my safe for more stuff.

"I agree. I'd like nothing more than to have you safe in your apartment or mine, but that won't help. You need to be visible," he said, with a sigh. "I'm relieved you're not arguing with me on the safety measures."

"We had an agreement. If somebody found a way to get to me, we do things your way. No arguments. I'm scared, Ranger. I want to be safe. I moved here so I would be safe. I'll let you do anything you want to help make me feel safe again," I said, slumping down onto my bed.

"I did have another suggestion to making you feel safe," he said, his voice dropping an octave.

I raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Oh yeah, what'd you have in mind, baby?"

"Me, in your bed every night with you wrapped up in my arms."

"Mmm, I like that. Are you naked in my bed?"

"Babe," he said, amused.

"Hey we're still in the room you know," Bobby said, disgusted. Ranger and I laughed.

"What are your plans?" he asked

"I have some things I need to do here, so I'll be missing my range time. I still plan on going to the range though. I want to see that tape. You and Tank want to meet us there and watch it, too?" I asked.

"Yes. Call me when you get there. I need to get back to my meeting," he said and disconnected.

I pushed three on my cell and called Lula. She answered after two rings. "Gotta text from the big bad wolf. There are some new security measures I'll explain later in person. I need to take care of some stuff, so I'm ditching our range time. I still want to watch the tape, though. You interested?"

"Uh huh. Pick me up on your way," she said and hung up.

I put my phone on the nightstand and opened my handgun case. Five handguns were positioned inside. I heard a funny noise and looked up. Bobby and Van were staring at my selection with open mouths.

"You have five guns in there, Hon," Bobby said, looking at me.

"Six," I said taking the Glock 29 out of the small of my back.

"What are doing with six handguns?" Van asked, looking them over.

I pulled the Glock 19 9mm out and slipped it into a cloth case, adding extra ammunition. I pulled Velcro strips out of the bag and attached it to both sides of the case.

"I've bought most of these after completing a training class. I have three that I use the most, but I guess I wanted pack ups," I said.

"What are you doing?" Bobby asked, eying the 9mm in the case.

"Panic button," I said, taking the Sig Saucer P239 .389 out of the case and slipped it into another cloth carrying case, adding extra ammunition.

"What do you mean by panic button?" Bobby asked, as I placed the Velcro strips on the back of the case holding the .380.

"Extra security. I don't want to be caught off guard. Ranger can't always be here. And security alarms only go so far."

I took the S&M 9mm out of the case and placed it in an individual case with an extra magazine. I put the Velcro strips on the back and pulled my mattress back a little. I pealed the back off the Velcro and stuck it to the headboard and pushed the mattress back into place hiding the gun.

"I was given that gun by my instructor after completely my first assessment of a room. I shocked the hell out of him and myself," I said, grabbing the two other guns and leaving the room.

Bobby and Van followed behind me as I stepped into the kitchen. I pulled the backing off the Velcro strips on the Sig and attached it under the table. I left the kitchen and went into the half bath by the front door. I attached the case holding the Glock to the back of the toilet tank and left the room.

"I use the Glock 29 and the HK the most. Glock 22 only gets brought out when I'm carrying two guns. I have a taser too. Do you think I should put that in the living room by the balcony door?" I asked, while walking back to my bedroom.

"I'm getting a hard on," Van said, smiling at me.

Bobby chuckled and smacked him in the back of the head. "I'm glad to see you're being active in keeping yourself alive," Bobby said, with a grin. I nodded my head as I came out of my bedroom with the taser. I attached it to the side of the book self in the corner next to the door leading to my balcony.

"Does Ranger know how much arsenal you have in this apartment?" Bobby asked me.

"Nope." I slipping my Glock 22 into the small of my back, and the HK 9mm into my ankle band. "Do you think he'd be impressed?" I asked, with a grin as put on my Kevlar vest and a sweatshirt over the top.

"Do you have to ask?" Bobby said, on a grin.

I clipped my cell to my hip, grabbed my equipment bag and my pocket book, and walked out the door. Bobby locked up and we took the stairs to the parking lot. I beeped open my car and angled in, depositing my bags in the back seat. I removed my cell from my hip, clipped it into the hands free unit on my dash, and speed dialed Lula while pulling out of the parking lot.

"What up?" Lula said into the phone.

"On my way. Make sure you have a vest on before you come out," I said and disconnected.

I arrived at Lula's fifteen minutes later with Bobby right on my bumper. Lula was at my car before I even came to a complete stop. She climbed in and I handed her my phone. She opened the text message and sucked air in through her front teeth.

"How does he know that shit?" Lula asked, putting my phone back in place.

"I don't know. That's what's been bugging me. He knows too much. I can see him knowing my schedule. I do the same thing pretty much every day at the same time. Doesn't take a genius to figure out my time frame," I said, with a sigh. "I can understand him knowing the kind of wine we drank. He's obviously following me around, and I don't know who he is. Easy to blend."

"Uh huh, but this shit you've kept real quiet. How does he know what name you're using?"

"That's the thing. And I'm not sure I like what my instincts are telling me," I said. "Carolyn told us there are three of them. I don't think the delivery man is the main guy. I think he's just that, the delivery guy. Then I think there is a driver. I think the main guy is the one watching me, but he's doing it from a distance. He's controlling. I've felt that from the beginning. He seems to have to be in control at all times. He was pissed about Sarah. That wasn't part of his plan. Killing Sarah was a punishment to me. But I don't think he knows everything about me on his own. I think one of the other two is close to me, or somebody I know. They are feeding him all he needs to scare me. We're like his puppets right now. He's pulling strings and forcing us to do what he wants."

I pulled into the parking lot at Marksman's Pistol Institute and parked next to the Explorer holding Zero and Landon. I shut the car off and stared out the front window. After a minute I looked to my left at the Merry Men watching me. I stared at them for a moment and then looked to my right at Bobby and Van. They were looking at me curiously, waiting for a sign of what I was doing.

"The scariest part of all this is the fact that you know psychos too well. You've been stalked too much, Steph. You seem to understand them more each time this happens," Lula said, watching me. "I also don't think I like what your instincts are telling you either. Warn me before you drop it on Batman. I want to have my gun in my hand before you open your mouth," she said, opening the door. I followed her with my eyes. Ranger was not going to like what I was thinking at all. I looked at Bobby again. He was talking with Lula and keeping an eye on me. He came around to my window and tapped on it. I slid it down and looked at him.

"Are we going in, Hon?" he asked, brushing some hair off my face.

"Did you call Ranger?" I asked, undoing my seat belt.

"He's on his way. Let's get you inside," he said. I nodded my head and swallowed hard. I wanted Ranger to take me inside. I didn't like what I was feeling.

"You can trust me, Steph. I would never betray you, Honey. I would never betray Ranger. I know what you're thinking. Van and I talked about it all the way here. I guarantee you, if I'm feeling it and you're feeling it, Ranger's feeling it too," he said, brushing a stray tear off my cheek.

"He's going to be mad when I tell him what my instincts are screaming at me," I said, sniffing and wiping my nose on my sleeve.

"No he's not. He loves you, and he also happens to think you have the best instincts of anybody he knows," Bobby said, trying his damnedest to reassure me. "Come on. Let's get inside. He'll be here any minute."

I climbed out of the SUV just as Ranger and Tank pulled in. He was driving the truck. He parked on the other side of Zero and Landon and jumped out joining us walking in. He put a protective arm around me and guided me inside. I felt better instantly. I was dreading the conversation I needed to have with him, but I still felt safe in his arms. I always felt safe in his arms.

We walked in and approached the security check station. We weren't entering the range, so we just needed to present our weapons and we could have them back. Thomas Kelly was the security guard in the station. He was tall with a lithe build. His skin was china-white. He had wide chestnut eyes, straight midnight black hair cut short, and an upturned nose.

"Hey Thomas, we're not shooting today, but we'd like to talk to Jeffery or Quintin," I said, while placing my 9mm on the tray to be cleared. "We need four passes as well. They are all with RangeMan and armed."

"ID and place all your weapons in the trays," he said. "Jeffery and Quintin are both in class right now, Steph. Can I help with something?"

"I was curious if you guys gave the police the original tape from the parking lot yesterday?" I asked, smiling as I watched the guys unload all their weapons into four trays.

"No, we have the original. We gave them a copy of two hours before you arrived until everything was cleared away. You haven't seen the tape?" he asked, and started checking the weapons before him.

"No I haven't that's why I'm here. I wanted to see it. Is that possible?" I asked.

"Absolutely," he said, finishing the weapons and grabbing the radio off his hip. "David, I'm sending Stephanie Plum and Lula to you. They want to see the tape from yesterday."

"Sure thing, Thomas. I'll get it set up," the man replied.

"Down the hall," he said, pointing to his left. "Second door on the right. It's the security room. David will help you with whatever you need. He can make you a copy if you'd like too."

"Thanks, Thomas," I said and took Ranger's hand as he guided me to the security room.

David was holding the door open for us when we arrived. He showed us in and got us seats. The room was impressive. It had a massive flat screen monitor with thirty-two camera spots. There was all these buttons, switches, and knobs. David punched in a bunch of numbers and the exterior of the building and parking lot appeared in front of us. There were seven large camera spots to watch.

"I've keyed it up to just before you pulled in the parking lot, Stephanie. Let me know if you need me to do anything," David said, and hit another button to play it.

Less than a minute into watching the tape, I pulled in followed by Lester. We ended up parking in perfect view of a camera. Lula and I got out, and Lester and Tony rushed us inside through the rain. The parking lot had a few people running inside after us and then it was empty of moving bodies. I watched all the screens for any movement. After about ten minutes of nothing I caught movement in the bottom right spot. It was the right side of the building. The camera picked up the tip of a white car. After a minute our man in black appeared, face down and dressed in all black. His hood was up hiding his hair, and he wore gloves to cover up knowing a skin color. He was carrying a big blue hockey style bag over his shoulder and two five gallon buckets. I could see his muscles straining with the weight of the buckets. I watched how he walked, and memorized his shape. He walked around the corner of the building and into view of a different camera. I saw his head lift just slightly.

"Freeze," I said.

David hit some buttons and the screens paused. I got up and moved closer to the monitor. I pointed to the frame he was in.

"Can you zoom in?" I asked, staring at the figure.

David clicked a few times and the camera started zooming in. His face was covered with a black mask and he was wearing black sunglasses. I shook my head. Damn.

"Go ahead," I said, staying where I was.

He turned right after lifting his head. It was almost like he wanted to show us he was smarter than us. He walked to my car keeping his head down. He sat the buckets down on the driver's side and had my door open in seconds. That made my stomach even more uneasy. He popped the trunk and moved back there to unload the bag. With the trunk open we couldn't see what he was doing. None of the camera angles could pick it up. He shut the trunk after a few minutes and moved to the five gallon buckets. He opened one at a time and started pouring the blood from them. We couldn't see the blood come out, but obviously that's what he was doing. After he finished the first bucket he lifted his arm to his face and pulled his coat back to look at a watch. I caught a flash of skin.

"Stop. Go back a little and zoom in on his arm," I said, leaning in. David punched in a bunch of keys and got me where I wanted. I smiled and pointed to the tiny strip of skin he revealed by looking at his watch. "Our man in black is white," I said.

"Good eyes, Babe," Ranger said, from right behind me. I was so attentive to the screen I didn't realize he was that close. I leaned back into him, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. We watched the man dump the second bucket into my car and gather everything before hurrying away. He retraced his path back to the car that was still in the same spot. He disappeared off the screen, but the car remained. We watched the screen for twenty minutes, and there was no movement anywhere. The car stayed in the same place until I walked out the front door next to Lula. The car backed up and moved from the camera's view.

"Somebody told them to leave. Somebody else was watching too. Why would they sit there for twenty minutes and then leave right when I came out? It doesn't make any sense," I said. I watched all the camera spots but the one I was on. I knew what I was doing. I wanted to see the car or a person. Something out of place. Somebody was watching what was happening. I knew it when it happened, and I was convinced now after watching the tape.

"Stop," Ranger and I said at the same time. He smiled with his lips on my temple and gave me a little kiss

"Uh, camera four, David. Rewind and play it back slow," I said, snuggling into Ranger's embrace.

David hit a bunch of keys and turned some knobs. I had no clue what he was doing, but he got the job done. He made camera four double in size and we watched the white car with smoked out windows drive along the left side of the building. The camera angle never gave us a view of the license plate of course, but the passenger window came down just slightly and a hand gave a finger wave. He was mocking me. Once the car was out of reach of the cameras, David turned it back to all the cameras and we watched for another twenty minutes. We didn't see anything more.

"Thanks, David. I really appreciate this. Can you make me a copy starting at six am until one pm?" I asked.

"Sure, I'll have it ready for you tomorrow morning," he said, writing down what I wanted.

"Thank you so much," I said, smiling as we all filed out of the security room.

"A finger wave?" I gritted out as we left the building.

"Somebody knows you pretty well," Ranger said, with his hand on the small of my back.

"Maybe."

"You want to tell me what you're thinking?" he asked, as he waved Landon and Zero on.

"Not particularly," I said, looking at my shoes.

"But you're going to tell me anyways, right," he said, tipping my chin up forcing my eyes to meet his.

"It's just this feeling I've got," I said, not really answering. Delay, avoidance, denial, all my good friends.

"Do you know who delivered the package this morning to the apartment?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Let me call the control room and get it for you," Ranger said, grabbing his cell off his hip.

"No, it's okay. I'll just figure it out some other way," I said.

"And what way would that be? I was calling Lester. Do you at least trust him, even if you don't trust the rest of my men?" he asked, with a slight bite to his voice.

"Don't you dare make this about _me_ not trusting them, like I don't have a reason," I said, squaring my shoulders and lifting my chin. "I don't know who I can trust anymore, but I know I can trust Les."

He clenched his jaw and let out an uneasy breath. "What exactly do you mean by that? Are you saying you don't trust me? Are you honestly implying that I would ever put you in danger?" he asked.

"Jesus no. I wasn't talking about you at all. I didn't think I needed to clarify my trust in you. All I meant was that I don't know who I can trust out of the guys at RangeMan. It's killing me to think that one or more of them are apart of this," I said, tears burning my eyes.

Ranger pulled me into his arms and hugged me to him. He nuzzled my face with his, brushing his cheek against mine. "Tank and I already considered what you're feeling. You're not unjustified for feeling unsure. There are very few people that know the information this guy has outside of RangeMan. The people you've trusted the information with would never tell anybody. I'm angry that I think you're right, but I'm not angry with you. I need you to tell me who you trust. I will change your guards to make sure only the guys you trust are with you, and I'll make it very clear that nobody is to discuss you in the presence of those you aren't sure about. Be honest with me, Steph, because this is serious. I won't hold anything against you, and I won't try to persuade you to trust anybody. This is all your choice. I'll change my schedule so I can be with you when Lester or Tank can't if that's what it takes. I want you safe and comfortable. I also must tell you that when I find out which one of my men has put you in danger and is fucking with you, he's going to wish he was never born," Ranger said, in my ear.

"Can we move this talk into my car? I feel kind of exposed out here," I said, looking into his eyes. "Me, you, Lula, Tank, Bobby, and Van." He nodded and we all piled into my SUV. It's a good thing I opted for a seven seater.

"I don't know who to trust, but I have a funny feeling that the one responsible for filling my psycho in on my life isn't actually at the RangeMan building on Haywood," I said, getting a few curious looks.

"Explain," Ranger said.

"I don't know the guards at Woodbrook House. I don't know any of their names, and I've never met any of them. But they all know me. They have the information this guy has. If they didn't have it, it would be easy to get. All they would have to do is ask one of their co-workers. Everybody at the RangeMan building knows about all my stalkers, and various information regarding my life. I really think it's one of the guys at Woodbrook House. My problem is I don't know who he's friends with on Haywood Street. I don't think any of the guys I know would do this. I also don't want to tip anybody off that I might be on to something," I said.

Ranger watched me for a minute or two. "I get what you're saying, so tell me who you trust. Like I said only the people you trust will be around you or know anything that's going on with you."

"I don't know Ranger. I could trust somebody that is friends with the guys from my apartment and then I'm fucked," I said.

"I'm friends with two of the guys at Woodbrook House, Steph. I'll tell you now your safety is more important to me. If you say you don't trust the guards there then that is all it takes for me. Your name, your life, your business is from this moment on a taboo topic. That's all you have to say, and any of us will comply," Van said.

"Thanks, Van. I really hope it's not one of your friends," I said to him.

"Don't worry about it. If it is, well," he said, leaving the rest unsaid.

I didn't need him to finish the sentence to know what was going to happen. These guys are not the type of men to betray, and even though the betrayal was technically to me, all the RangeMan guys would feel betrayed.

"Who is guarding me today?" I asked thinking that way would be easier than coming up with a list.

"Bobby and Van with Landon and Zero as backup. After four it's Woody and David with Snake and Eddie as backup. Tonight is Cal and Alex with Junior and Ram as backup," Tank said looking at his phone.

"I don't know about Snake, Eddie, and Alex. The rest are fine," I said.

"Switch Snake and Eddie with you and me as backup," Ranger said. "Then for tonight do Junior and Ram and have Roy and Pat do backup."

"I feel like I'm being a pain in the ass. It's not fair to the guys that expected to be in the field to get pulled. It's not their fault I don't know them well enough to have complete trust in them," I said, leaned my head against the window.

"Life isn't fair, Babe. Do you want that address?" he asked, and I nodded. He opened his phone and speed dialed the control room. "Put Santos on," he ordered. "Go to my office." He waited thirty seconds. "There's a note sitting next to my phone with a name of a courier service. What's the name and address?" He scribbled down the information and disconnected.

He handed me the paper, kissed me lightly on the lips, and got out. He held the door for Lula and closed it after she got in. Bobby and Van got into their Explorer, and I left for a quick stop off to get doughnuts before getting to the bond office.

Connie was guarding her sanctum when we walked through the door. In other words she was filing her nails at her desk. Melvin was busy filing, and Vinnie's office door was shut thank God.

"Nice article this morning. Guess that blew the low profile thing right out of the water. What now?" she asked, not taking her eyes off her nails.

"Added some security and subtracted some people from the equation. Not much we can do about it. The damage is done, now we deal with it," I said, dropping onto the couch next to Lula. Bobby and Van took up positions next to the door so they could keep our vehicles in sight and watch over me.

"I figured we wouldn't see you two. Thought you'd be out there hunting this loony toon," Connie said, lifting her eyes to me.

"We are, but we have a job to do as well. We can multitask," Lula said, yawning.

"No new files, so find the ones you got and catch the sick bastard," Connie said, going back to her filing.

My cell started ringing and all I could do was shake. I was so scared it was him. I unclipped the phone and stared at the readout. Morelli.

"Yo," I said, unfeeling.

"Read the paper. When do I get your new address?" Joe asked, laughing.

"What are talking about? What new address?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Well you're a victim in your own apartment again, so I figured it must be time to relocate. Maybe you should cut the list down of people that know your address even further this time. I'm guessing it wasn't your family that let slip where you live to the psycho stalking you."

"Did this phone call have a purpose?"

"Yeah where's the note that went along with the article?"

"What note?"

"Tsk, tsk. You shouldn't lie to a cop," Joe said.

"It doesn't concern you," I said.

"The hell it doesn't. This is an on going investigation into a murder. Any notes you get from the killer is evidence."

"The note wasn't about your case. It was about me."

"It doesn't matter. He could have written something that appears to be insignificant, but could be the one puzzle piece we needed to catch the guy."

"Right, cause you have so many puzzle pieces already."

"Where are you, I'll come get the note," he said, completely ignoring my comment. He wasn't going to tell me about the tape. Scum sucker.

"Why the hell would I have the damn thing on me, Morelli?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"I'll pick it up from your apartment tonight. What time will you be home?"

"I'll give you a call when I'm in for the night," I said, smiling evilly.

"Uh huh, and if you don't call me by seven, I'll just swing by. See you later, Cupcake," he said and hung up. Jerk.

"Morelli's going to swing by and see Ranger and me tonight," I told Bobby, grinning.

"Ranger will like that," Bobby said with a broad smile.

"Yeah," I said, chuckling.

"He's still pissed about the tape, Honey," he said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," I said again, laughing. Bobby shook his head and chuckled a little.

I was ready to round up Otto, so I got up, grabbed a doughnut for the road, and nodded my head to the door. Lula got the hint and followed me out the door hollering a see yah to Connie and Melvin and carrying two doughnuts to go. We got in the SUV and left for Windy's house. I figured we could start there and pray she was a complete moron and went back. I drove up Garfield Avenue and shook my head in disbelief when Windy's red Jetta was parked on the corner. I dialed Bobby's cell and told him to park behind the Jetta. I drove pass the car and blocked it in. I took the back of the house with Bobby and Lula went to the front with Van.

Bobby and I took up positions on both sides of the back door and waited. We heard the door bell and some movement. After a second the movement sounded like it was getting closer to us. I flattened myself against the house just as the back door opened. Windy ran out onto the back porch, and before she could get down the steps, forcing me to chase her, I grabbed her by the back of the shirt and sat her ass down. Firmly.

"Don't move. If you make my ass chase you again, I'll shoot in the foot and claim it was an accident," I said, stepping closer to her. "Raise your hands and place them behind your head."

She let out a loud sigh and raised her hands. She slowly placed them behind her head, and I slapped the cuffs on one wrist while bring it down to the middle of her back. I brought her second hand down to join the first and stood her up. I walked her back to my SUV and let Lula patted her down. We got her loaded up and drove to the station. Lula hauled her in, while I waited in the car. I really didn't want to deal with running into Morelli. I was afraid I might punch him in the nose if I had to hear one more comment.

Lula came out ten minutes later and let out a full body shiver. She still wasn't real happy about going into a police station, but she sucked it up and dealt with it, though. At least she stopped breaking out in hives over entering the building. She still claimed it gave her the runs every so often just to get me to go in without her.

"Should we check out the courier company now?" I asked, while digging the paper out of my pocket.

"Yeah. I'm definitely ready to find this psycho," Lula said, keying up the volume on the CD player.

I left the parking lot and headed to Golden Express at 912 S. Broad Street. I parked in front of the building, and Bobby parked behind me. We waited until the guys were out and had surveyed our surroundings before getting out and going inside. There was a lady to greet us from behind a long counter that separated the business from customers. There were a few younger men running around behind the woman gathering packages for delivery.

"Good morning, and welcome to Golden Express. How may I assist you," she said.

She was a short woman with a leggy build. Her skin was tan. She had deep-set brown eyes that looked like two acorns. Her chestnut hair was framing her face in a very Connie like style, in other words teased within an inch of its life. She had a large mouth that was smiling at us, showing off every perfectly white tooth.

"Hi, we were wondering if you might be able to tell us about a package this company delivered to me this morning." I asked, flashing my best smile. It always worked for Ranger.

"I can try. What's your name and where did we deliver the package?" she asked, keying up her computer.

"My name is Stephanie Plum, and you delivered it to 865 Lower Ferry Road in Ewing," I said, leaning on the counter.

She typed the information into the computer and paused blinking. She looked at me, expression neutral and blinked. I raised my eyebrow at her waiting for an explanation. She blinked some more. I was getting annoyed.

"You're going to need to speak up about that package," Lula said, from beside me.

"I don't know anything about that package," she said, diverting her eyes to packages waiting to be delivered.

I slammed my hand down on the counter, causing her to jump and look at me. I leaned in closer fixing her with a glare. She blinked at me some more, and I lost it. I removed my gun from the small of my back and rested it on the counter. She looked kind of antsy and looked at the phone.

"Go ahead," I said, nodding to the phone. "Ask for Detective Morelli. Let him know that before he gets here he'll need to have a warrant with him to search your computer system. I'm just the tip of the iceberg lady, so pull your brains out of your ass and tell me what you know. Then start printing everything that you know, because the police will be here tomorrow asking the same damn questions."

"Look I don't know anything. I don't even want to be involved in this. The entire delivery was weird, and I get the idea whoever was sending the package to you didn't want to be known. The computer says a package was to be delivered to Stephanie Plum at 865 Lower Ferry Road at five in the morning," she said, shaking slightly.

I sighed and put my gun away. Scaring her wasn't getting me anywhere, but I needed to know about the delivery. I counted to ten and cracked my knuckles.

"Why did it seem weird?" I asked.

"I don't want to be involved in this. Which part of that did you not understand," she said. Clearly she forgot I have a gun.

"Guess what, I don't give a shit. You think I want to be involved in this? I was aiming for semi-normalcy. I didn't think that was too much to ask for, but some sick, demented, whacked out freak felt semi-normalcy was overrated. Now you need to start talking, because in case you haven't noticed you're already involved. You accepted the delivery. You delivered the package. How much more involved could you possibly be?" I asked.

"This request came by the Internet. The order was for us to pick up a package that was on the bench in front of the basketball court at Cadwalader Park off of North Lenape Avenue. From there we were to take it to your apartment and specifically say it was for Stephanie Plum," she said.

"How was the service paid for?" I asked.

"Credit card," she said, looking at the computer monitor.

"Seriously?" I asked, smiling. I pulled my cell off my hip and speed dialed Ranger.

"Babe," he said after one ring.

"Can you trace a credit card number for me?" I asked.

"You can't be serious. They charged the delivery to their credit card?" Ranger asked.

"Yeah, and here I thought they were smart," I said to him. "What's the credit card number?" I asked the lady behind the counter. She wrote the number down and slid the paper to me.

"I'm going to put you on with Lester," Ranger said and a second later Lester was on in his place.

"Give it to me, Sweetie?" Lester said. I read him off the visa number and expiration date and he told me to give him a few minutes and he'd get back to me. I hung up my phone and clipped it back on my hip.

"What name and address was used on the account?" I asked.

"Michelle Stephens 1266 Hamilton Avenue for a physical address and a PO Box 90 for an alternate," she said reading the screen.

"Thank you, you've been very helpful," I said and walked out. I leaned against my SUV and closed my eyes. He knew I would track down the courier company. He knew I would get the information about the delivery. He used my assumed name, the bond office address, and my apartment number as a PO Box number. The visa number was probably stolen. I needed food. Happy food. Cake, I needed cake. I climbed into my SUV and drove to Pino's. A meatball sub was an excellent substitute for cake. It didn't quite handle the sugar needs, but it was a comfort food. And I was in serious need of comfort at the moment.

We walked through the door and every eye in the place landed on me. The four of us walk to a table in the back, so the guys could sit with their backs to the wall. Just as I sat down my cell rang.

"Yo," I said.

"You're never going to believe this," Lester said. "The visa was a gift card."

"Huh?" I asked, bemused.

"The number wasn't pulling anything up for me, so I called Visa. It's a gift card number. You can buy them pretty much anywhere and it works just like any gift card, except it acts just like a visa, but it's not traceable back to the user," he said.

I banged my head against the table. One step forward and three back. I disconnected, ordered my food, and relayed the information. We ate quickly and jetted out the door. We got in our vehicles and drove over a few blocks to S Olden Ave. I parked in front of Herman and Elizabeth Coleman's house. We walked up the walkway and rang the bell. We waited a full minute before heading back to her cars.

"Where too, Hon," Bobby asked as my cell rang.

"Newspaper. We need to talk to the editor," I said getting in my SUV. I clipped my phone into the hands free unit and answered it.

"Yo," I said, while putting my seat belt on.

"What the hell are you doing at the Coleman's house?" Morelli asked.

"I was going to ask them a few questions. I really like their car and was curious where they got it," I said, smiling.

"Stay out of this, Stephanie. The case may have started with you, but it's my case. Go chase your skips and leave the police work to the professionals," he said. Lula sucked in some air, and I gave him the middle finger before disconnecting the call.

I drove down the street for a few blocks and parked in front of The Times. We got out and went inside. The place was like zoo of caged animals. It took a full five minutes before anybody realized we were standing at the counter.

"Oh my God everybody, Stephanie Plum is here!" a woman shouted.

I closed my eyes and prayed for patience. I counted to ten and rolled my neck around a few times. I opened my eyes and suddenly felt like I was the zoo animal. They were staring at me like I was required to entertain them. I was hoping it didn't come down to jabbing me with sticks.

"I wanna talk to the editor," I said.

"What can I do for you Ms. Plum," a squatty man asked, while coming out of a room.

"I want to know about the article this morning," I told him.

"We got the information from a source, and sources are protected. If any of the information was incorrect then we will happily do a retraction," he said.

"Your source's right to stay anonymous is invading my privacy. He's also stalking me, and is wanted for questions regarding a murder," I said. "You still want to protect him?"

"I'm a firm believer in the bill of rights, Ms. Plum, but even if I didn't want to keep my source's identity protected, I couldn't help you. I don't know who he or she is. The information and photos were sent to us by a courier service. That's all I can or will tell you. I'd love an interview though," he said, grinning.

"The day I give this paper and interview, is the day I'll hand you my own gun and let you shoot me," I said, smiling and walking out.

"At least tell us about you and Mr. Manoso," somebody shouted at our backs. "Is that his men guarding you?" I gave them the middle finger over my shoulder and kept walking out. I got in my SUV and drove to my Parents' house. I needed to check on my mother. Lula gave me a sideways look, and I shrugged. My family wasn't high on the list of places people wanted to visit, but it was a necessary evil.

I parked out front and the guys were at my door just as I got my seatbelt off. Bobby opened my door and the ushered me into my parents' house. It was quite so that meant dad and grandma were gone and mom was ironing. I walked into the kitchen with the guys and Lula following me. Mom had the ironing board up and was ironing curtains. I cringed.

"Hi mom," I said, when she didn't even look up to acknowledge my presence.

"Stephanie," my mother said back.

Great she'd been reduced to one word responses, and I wasn't even sure what I did wrong. Sure the article was annoying, but it was true so what was the big deal. I wasn't dating Joe any more. She had to know that even if I hadn't spelled it out for her. She had to know I was with Ranger. It was obvious when we were together.

"Mom, look I know the article was slightly annoying, but …"

"Slightly annoying? Slightly. Annoying. Do you have any idea what I've been put through this morning. Angie Morelli called me. Grandma Bella called me. That woman threatened to put the eye on me for allowing my daughter to embarrass and shame her grandson," she said, spitting her words out.

"How is that my fault? Joe should have told his family that we broke up. And it's none of anybody's business that I'm having dinner with my man and friends, so I didn't feel the need to have it announced over the burg grapevine," I said back equally snappish.

"So Carlos is your boyfriend, now," she said a little softer.

"No," I replied getting three lifted eyebrows and a confused look from my mom. "Boyfriend doesn't seem like the right term to use when describing Ranger. I don't feel like I need a term. He's mine and I'm his. It's as simple as that." I saw Bobby and Van visibly relax and my mother smiled slightly.

"So are we talking," she started to say but tapered off.

I narrowed my eyes at her. She was never going to give up. "We're not getting married, Mom. Neither of us wants to ever get married again. We don't need to get married to be committed. We are committed to each other. We are exclusive. All I want is him, and all he wants is me. Neither of us is going anywhere any time soon," I said.

"But if you were to get married, then it would …"

"Would what, Mom? Nothing would change, but how I sign my name. Things could still go bad and end just as easily as they could if we weren't married. Marriage isn't a guarantee to anything. Our words to each other and how we feel about each other is what matters. Those words and those feelings aren't going to change simply because I become Stephanie Manoso," I said and my chest tightened.

My mother smiled slightly and nodded at me. "Yes I can see how nothing would change simply because you became Stephanie Manoso," she said, putting her ironing board away.

"I have to go Mom," I said, suddenly feeling quite shaky.

"Why don't you and Carlos come by for dinner?"

"Not tonight. Maybe this weekend. I'll talk to him about it and get back to you," I said, and walked out the door. I got in my SUV and stared out the window.

"I'm going to go home and take a nap," I said to Lula, and started up the car.

"Yeah I can see you need a nap," she said, and we dropped into silence on the drive to her apartment.

I was in deep shit. I couldn't possibly want to get married to Ranger. I didn't want to get married. Marriage wasn't the answer to a commitment. Ranger _is_ committed to me, and he wasn't going to suddenly become more committed just because we sign a marriage license. Besides he didn't want to get married at all, even to me. I couldn't suddenly tell him I changed my mind, and that I do want to get married. That won't end well.

"What changed?" Lula asked, startling me.

"Huh?"

"I've seen you discuss marriage with regards to Morelli and you looked like you might get the runs, but when you said Stephanie Manoso your face changed. You looked like you were in deep shit. Something happened inside you when you said Manoso. That much was clear to the entire room," she said, while picking at her nails.

Clear to the room? That meant the guys could tell I wanted to marry Ranger. Would they tell him? Of course they would. They have to report their entire day to him. Would he say something to me about it? He was probably thinking of a way to leave the state without me knowing about it.

I stopped in front of Lula's apartment and she looked at me for several minutes before getting out. I needed to find a way to wipe my emotions from my face. I'd always just worn them for all to see. Like a display window at Macys.

I drove home on autopilot. I muttered a hello to Rex and dropped him a snack. I told the guys I was taking a nap and went to my bedroom dropping everything on the way. I dropped on the bed face down in my t-shirt and underwear. My last coherent thought was of marrying Ranger.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Fourteen**

I was standing at the end of the isle with my father on my arm. I smiled at him just as the doors opened and the music changed.

"Are you ready?" my father asked, smiling at me.

"Just about," I said, staring at my future husband.

The church bells were ringing, and I smiled as I took my first steps toward a new life with the man I loved more than life itself. The doors shut behind me with a thud, and I couldn't help but frown slightly. The loud thud was quit disturbing to my blissful state. I shook it off and continued forward to the man at the other end. Cupcake, I heard him softly say.

I sat straight up disoriented and disturbed. Joe crept into my perfect wedding to Ranger. I looked around my bedroom trying to figure out what the heck the noise was all about.

"Damn it, Stephanie, I know you're in there. I saw your SUV parked in your spot, now open the door. Come on, Cupcake," Joe shouted from the hallway outside my apartment door.

I jumped off my bed and stumbled to the door. What the hell was his problem? I unlocked the door and flung it open, glaring at the man on the other side. He had his fist up ready to start pounding again. He put his fist down and took in my appearance.

"What the hell is your problem," I shouted just as an alarm went off next to my head.

I looked at the alarm pad confused. I knew I didn't activate an alarm when I got home. Hell I wasn't told the alarm system was finished. I was flapping my arms and jumping up and down trying to figure out what to do to get it to stop. My apartment phone started ringing and my cell phone was going off to mix with the loud alarm. I turned around to get my phone hoping it was RangeMan control room and they could tell me what to do. I picked up the phone just as Ranger came running out of my bedroom in nothing but a towel and his gun. His hair was wet and he had beads of water running down his chest. I unconsciously licked my lips. He sat his gun on the kitchen counter on his way to the door. He entered in the code and the alarm stopped just as Woody and David came running through the stairwell door with their guns drawn. They slowed to a jog and joined Joe just outside my door.

"Situation under control," Ranger said to them. "Steph opened the door while I was showering. I hadn't got a chance to tell her the code yet since she was sleeping."

The guys nodded and looked at me. I looked down and realized I was only in a t-shirt and panties. I stepped behind Ranger, blocking my half nakedness. The guys chuckled and headed back to the stairs. Ranger took the phone from my hands and answered it, clearing up the false alarm.

"Hector just got the alarm system finished an hour ago. There's an alarm pad on the wall by the balcony door, one here, and one outside in the hall. Anytime a door is opened and the alarm is activated you have ten seconds to enter in the pin or it will go off. When you are home the alarm needs to be active at all times. When you leave turn it off and reactivate it on the pad outside the door. The code is written on the paper in the kitchen," he said, while looking at me. He tucked a curl behind my ear and kissed me softly. "I'm going to throw on some clothes and get that letter."

The letter? Right the letter. Of course he would know about Morelli picking up the letter. If he knew about that then he most likely knew about my marriage malfunction. I needed to go back to sleep before he got me alone. Maybe if I chugged a few beers I could pass out before we got to the marriage talk.

"I can see you have all the protection you can possibly need," Joe said from the doorway.

"Yeah, I guess I do. Come on in, I'm going to throw on some sweats," I said, shutting the door behind him.

I walked in my bedroom as Ranger was putting on a shirt. He looked pissed. I was hoping the pissed wasn't aimed at me. I pulled open my third dresser drawer and grabbed some sweats. I pulled them on and turned around. Ranger was standing right in front of me with a slight grin on his lips. He wrapped his arms around me and dropped a kiss on my lips. His tongue swept across my lower lip seeking entrance. I opened my mouth deepening the kiss. His tongue touched mine, and I sank into him.

"Hey, Cupcake, do you mind if I grab a beer. It's been one of those days," Joe shouted from the other side of the bedroom door.

"He did that on purpose," I said, still wrapped up in Ranger's arms.

"I'm telling you now, Babe, this isn't going to be pretty. I'm still pissed about the tape, and he's going to hear about it," Ranger said, dropping a kiss on my forehead and pulling me out of the bedroom.

Joe was sitting on my couch with a beer in one hand and the remote in the other. The Ranger's game was on. I completely forgot about the game. I jumped over the back of the couch landing next to Morelli. He passed me a beer already opened. I took a long pull from the bottle and sat it down leaning forward to watch the game.

It was ten minutes into the game. Carolina verses the Rangers in New York. The score was still zero-zero. Joe was shouting at the players as Carolina was moving down the ice into scoring position. They shot and it was saved. Joe and I high-fived each other and went back to watching the game. A whistle was blown the ref called interference on the Rangers.

Ranger, oh crap. I cringed and spun around to look at him. He had an amused look on his face. He shook his head at me, the corners of his mouth tipped up slightly. I mouthed 'sorry' and smiled sweetly at him. He leaned over the back of the couch and kissed me softly.

"Don't worry about it. I have some work to do," he said, walking over to the desk. "There's pizza in the kitchen. Arrived five minutes before Morelli." I jumped up and ran to the kitchen, not wanting to miss the game. I grabbed three plates, the pizza box, and another beer. I placed the beer and a plate next to Ranger's hand on the desk. I opened the pizza box and dropped a piece on his plate.

"Thank you," I said in his ear.

He turned to me smiling. "Welcome," he said and looked down at what I brought him. "Thanks, Babe."

I kissed him and walked back over to the couch. I dropped the pizza on the coffee table and the plates next to it. I grabbed a slice of pizza and ate it without bothering with the plate. Joe reached in the box and grabbed a slice just as his pager when off.

"Jesus Christ," he said, ripping the thing off his hip. "I have to go. Can I get that letter?" he asked.

I heard the chair move Ranger was sitting in, but I was too afraid to look at his face. I knew the blank mask would be in place, but I could tell when he was angry. Joe stood up and he looked over at Ranger. His cop face slid into place, and I knew it was now going to get ugly. I got up and moved over by Ranger, so Joe would understand that I completely supported whatever he was about to say.

"This is your one and only freebie," Ranger said, holding out the letter.

"What the hell does that mean?" Joe said, taking the letter. Couldn't he just accept the subtle warning at face value, take the damn letter, and leave? No, he had to be an alpha male and puff up his chest.

"You know exactly what it means," Ranger said, not changing his tone.

"So you're telling me that I have to get a warrant next time Stephanie has something involving this case," he said, already knowing that's what Ranger meant. I wanted to tell him the same thing earlier, but I was a chicken. I didn't want to deal with possible repercussions because I refused to cooperate with him.

"It was your choice to withhold information from us, putting Stephanie in more danger. You now get to move through the proper legal steps to gain access to items such as this letter. If something is sent to Steph and clearly points to your open murder investigation it will be forwarded to you immediately, but not items like this one," he said, pointing to the letter Joe was holding.

"In case you've forgotten, you're a civilian. I don't have to nor do I feel the need to share information with you. If you want to play things this way though, I'm warning you both now. Don't infer with my investigation, because the next time you do, I'll charge you," he said and saw himself out.

That went well. I grabbed my beer off the coffee table and walked out onto the balcony. I sat my beer down and remembered the alarm. I ran back in, but Ranger was already entering the pin. I smiled at him and went back outside. Maybe it would have been easier to just cooperate and have the free range of investigating on our own as well. Now I have to sneak around to catch this guy. I was pissed that I didn't know about the tape. It confirmed many suspicions by watching it, plus we learned the delivery man was white.

"Babe, I knew that was going to happen," Ranger said, wrapping his arms around me. Of course he did. Ranger didn't do anything without knowing what was going to happen. He was like an attorney. A good attorney never asked a question they didn't know the answer to. Ranger wouldn't have baited and warned Morelli if he didn't know what Joe would do or say in return. And Joe is a typical Italian male. If he gets pushed he pushes right back and adds a jab. I couldn't understand why Ranger would want Joe throwing jabs, though. It seemed counter productive to have him pissed and following us to make sure we weren't interfering with his investigation. Unless…

"Knew you'd get there," he said, giving me a light squeeze.

"You want him to follow me around?"

"He got the warning that I don't like what he did. He also got the warning that if he does it again it's going to get really ugly. His warning was empty. You might have to put up with a bit of bullshit, but he won't charge you. What his warning really meant, though, was that he's going to be close to you. You are going to have to work with him more than you probably wanted, but it also means he'll be watching out for you," he said, resting his cheek on my head.

"I thought that was your job." I closed my eyes and snuggled further into his warmth.

"It'll always be my job, but right now I can use all the help I can get. Morelli wouldn't be my first choice of eyes if you two were still together, but when you're not together he's 100% cop. And he's a good a cop," he said into my ear. I couldn't argue with that. Joe did let his guard down a little with regards to me when we were a couple. If I was a witness he never would allow anybody within five feet of me, but as his girlfriend he just figured I was safe to be in his presence.

"You want to walk me through your day?" he asked, brushing his lips across my cheek.

No. "You haven't been briefed yet?"

"I got the highlighted version. I'd like the full version. Plus I just like talking to you," he said, grabbing my beer and guiding me inside.

I smiled and settled in on the couch between his legs. He started rubbing my shoulders and back. It was a pattern we seemed to slip into when we were talking. He pushed my hair off the left side of my neck and dropped a kiss at the junction of my neck and shoulder.

"The hickey's gone," he said, brushing his lips across the spot it sat.

"Uh huh, thank God." I dropped my head back on his shoulder.

"How's the arm?" he asked, picking up my left arm.

The scrapes were scabbed over and healing. The brick burns were gone, and the bruising was at the greenish yellow stage, which meant they would be gone in a few days. He didn't ask about my breast, because he knew what it looked like. The bruising was so deep it just finished with red stage and moved onto the bluish purple stage. It was going to take another week or more before the finger prints were no longer on my breast.

"So your day," he said, rubbing my shoulders.

"Let's talk about your day instead," I said.

"My day was spent in the conference room. Meeting you at the range was the only time I got out until I left for the night. I was dealing with a new account, getting him set up and finding out all the information on the locations we're securing. He has a total of five locations, so it was a long process. When I met you at Marksman's I had Hector do an inspection of the locations. He was only finished with two when we got finished watching the tape. He finished the other three around one and came here to get a sense of what he needed and what he wanted to do. He came back at four and got you installed."

"I just fall asleep at that time. I didn't hear anything."

Ranger chuckled. "I believe the guys said you sleep like the dead. They kept looking in on you, and David said he actually check to see if you were breathing one time."

"It was stress sleep."

"Your skip came in easy? No more plates, chairs, and books?" He was grinning against my ear.

"Nope she gave in and sat down for me to cuff her." I leaned into his arms more and closed my eyes.

"The way I hear it was you sat her down, and then threatened to shoot her in the foot if she ran." His arms came around me, holding me closer.

I shrugged. "It's all lies."

I felt him smile against my temple. "How about threatening the lady at the courier service with your gun, that a lie too?"

"Yep, I don't have a clue what you're talking about."

"Proud of you, Babe." He kissed the side of my head.

"That's scary."

"Yeah." He shifted me so I was straddling his lap. "What did Morelli say about you being at the Coleman's house?" His hand ran up my neck and his thumb ran across my bottom lip.

"To go chase my skips and leave the police work to the professionals." I rolled my eyes.

"You want to get married?" he asked.

My eyes jumped to his. He was watching me for a reaction. My heart was beating so fast it might very well jump out of my chest. Was he asking me to marry him, or was it a question of trying to understand my thinking. I swallowed hard and opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I closed my mouth and took a deep breath and tried again.

"Huh?" Oh that was good Stephanie. Just call me master conversationalist.

Ranger smiled and kissed me softly. "Breathe, Babe," he said. "Something happened at your mom's today. All I got was it was about marriage. Your mom was harping, you were defending your position, but then something happened. What happened, Babe?" He traced my lips with his fingers.

"I can't think when you're doing that," I said biting at his finger.

That only encouraged him. His eyes turned black and he flipped me to my back. He settled between my legs and framed my face with his hands.

"This better?" he asked, grinning and leaning down kissing me until I was mush on the couch.

"What changed, Babe?"

"Stephanie Manoso." My eyes were still closed.

"Open your eyes." I opened my eyes, staring into his beautiful brown ones. "Do you want to get married tomorrow?"

"What?" I was out of breath. Did somebody turn up the heat? I felt like I was suffocating. Married tomorrow? Holy cow.

"Now there's the Stephanie I know. I saw the panic leap into your eyes at the mention of actually getting married."

"I want to marry you, Ranger," I said. "Just not tomorrow. And not next week. Probably not next month either. But someday in the distant future I want to marry you. I thought I didn't want it, but when I said Stephanie Manoso it felt right, and that's never happened before. I know you don't want to get married, even to me. So I'm warning you now. I'm playing for keeps. If that's not what you want, jump off the train now."

"When I told you I was committed to you, I meant it was for keeps. I'm not going anywhere, Babe. I can handle someday in the future. I knew someday would eventually happen." He leaned in to brush his lips across mine. "I don't want to talk about someday right now. In fact," he said and he kissed me.

Ranger was nudging me, but I was ignoring him. He couldn't possibly want more sex. We had sex so much the night before I was afraid I might not be able to walk. We finally fell asleep sometime after one o'clock in the morning.

"Ranger, go away. I can't keep up with you when I'm on sugar," I said, batting at his hand rubbing up my arm.

He chuckled. "Babe, as much as I'd love to be inside you right now, I just can't muster the energy."

"It can't be five thirty, yet. I feel like I just fell asleep." So what if it sounded like I was whinning.

"It's five o'clock. You have a text message," he said, his voice losing all its humor.

"I don't want to talk to my psycho this morning. I want to sleep."

"Babe, you have to read it. I know you want to sleep. I want to sleep, too. If you read it quick then we can sleep for another twenty minutes before we have to get up."

"Do you think maybe he ran out of paper," I said, rolling over to take the phone. I opened the message as Ranger read over my shoulder.

'_I was enjoying watching you on your balcony last night. To bad Ranger had to come out and ruin all my fun. You really should watch for little red dots. They can be quite deadly. Enjoy your run this morning Ms. Plum.'_

I sighed and knew my sleep was over. Ranger was out of bed and on his phone before I even closed out of the message. I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom.

Ranger and I switched places a few minutes later, and I got dressed. I didn't know how the morning was going to work, but I had a feeling I might be back on the treadmill. I wasn't sure I liked that. It may be safe, but it seemed kind of like admitting to being scared and then as far as I could see it that let psycho freak win.

"Deep thoughts?" Ranger asked, while leaning against the bathroom door frame.

"Who are my guards today?"

"I guess we should have discussed that last night," he said, grinning. "Junior and Ram are waiting down stairs along with Roy and Pat. We need to talk about this morning."

I took a deep breath and mentally prepared my argument. "What about it?"

"I want you to skip your run or at least run at RangeMan, but I know you won't, so I'm not going to waste my breath on an argument that I'll lose anyways."

"Thank you."

"I don't like it, in fact I hate that you're putting yourself out there as a target for this sick bastard, but that's who you are," he said, wrapping his arms around me. "And I love you for who you are."

"So I get to run in the park?"

"Babe, what you do is your choice. I would never tell you what you have to do. I'll ask and possibly try to persuade, but I won't tell you." I raised an eyebrow and he grinned. He's told before, but I guess he was calling that persuasion.

"I'll wear my vest, and I'll have as many guards as you see fit as long as I get to run in the park," I said, leaning into him. "When he said red dots he meant last night right?"

"I'm not about to assume anything with this guy. My instincts tell me no. That's why there will be four guards with us this morning," he said and walked off mumbling something I didn't understand.

"What?" I asked, following him. He turned and looked at me, but didn't respond. I lifted my eyebrow.

"I said not like it will make a difference."

I bit my bottom lip and considered what he was saying. He was right, but I felt like I had to go running in the park. I just sensed that he was getting close to coming out in full force. I knew it was slightly stupid to put myself out there as a target, especially when the choice of weapon had a laser sight, but hey I had to do something. I couldn't hide.

"I'm sorry that you hate this. And I'm sorry I have to do this. I don't want anybody to get hurt because I feel like I have to do this, so I'm amending my previous statement. Nobody runs with me today. Well except Lula. And that will be her choice. I won't have any of your men risking theirs necks for me. And I certainly won't have you risking your neck for me. I love you, and I couldn't live with myself if you got shot protecting me."

"I've been shot protecting or helping you before. And I'm going." He walked away.

I ran to catch up with him. I grabbed him by the arm and looked him right in the eyes. "Those bullets were actually meant for you. This time is different. He's after me. You would be getting shot by a bullet meant for me. I won't allow that. I already told you, I don't work without you. That applied before we were together. If something happened to you and I lost you forever, a huge hole would replace my heart. My life does not work without you in it. I'm asking you, Ranger. Please don't go with me today."

He crashed his mouth down on mine kissing me hard. "And what do you think would happen to me if I lost you. Do you think my life would just carry on like you never existed? My life would end as I know it," His eyes were shining with emotions.

"I'll be fine. He's not ready for the game to end. He's still fucking with me, but I get the feeling he's getting tired of you always being around. I'm not willing to chance him getting sick of you and shooting. Please, baby. I need you to do this for me."

He wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on top of mine. My eyes were burning with unshed tears. It kind of felt like we were preparing ourselves for the worst, and I wasn't anywhere near ready for the worst. I felt Ranger shift and he removed one of his arms. He unclipped his cell from his hip.

"Steph and Lula run alone this morning," he said to whoever answered the phone. "Yes. No. It's what she wants. It's Lula's choice, but Steph will understand if she doesn't want to. I figured. Call the guys. They will be waiting at the cars for the girls to finish their run. The rest of the orders still stand." He disconnected and clipped his cell back to his hip before wrapping his arm around me again. We stayed like that for several minutes.

"I'm going to change my clothes. I have some things I need to check on this morning. I expect a phone call as soon as you are finished running. In fact I expect many phone calls today," he said, looking at me.

"I'm going to leave now. I need to pick up Lula and head to the park," I said, leaning up to kiss him lightly.

"Tank's taking her to the park. Junior and Ram will follow you to the park and stay behind to watch over your Buick," he said and kissed me again. "Be safe please."

I smiled and knew I couldn't reply because it could turn to a lie. And I wouldn't lie to him. I pulled my ankle and back holsters out of my equipment bag and slipped HK 9mm and Sig into the holsters. I checked the straps on the Kevlar vest and put a hoodie on over it.

"Two guns, Babe. You're just missing the knife."

"I'm not very good with a knife."

"Hmm sounds like you need some knife combat training." He grabbed my equipment bag and walked me out the door.

He activated the alarm and walked me to my SUV. I climbed in and got a kiss that curled my toes for the entire trip to the park. Tank and Lula were waiting inside the Sonoma when I arrived. Tank got out gave me a look, kissed Lula, and left. I handed Lula my phone. She read it and handed it back. We exchanged nervous glances, and I was considering calling off my stupid plan when I heard doors close behind me. I whipped around hand on the gun at my back. Lester, Bobby, Hal, and Ace raised their hands in the air and smiled.

"Easy, Sweetie, don't shoot," Lester said, grinning.

"Don't worry I'll spare you, but your boss is going down," I said, gritting my teeth.

"Speaking of boss, where is Ranger?" Bobby asked.

"Huh?" I asked.

"We thought he'd be running with you. And why are Junior and Ram sitting in that damn Explorer instead of guarding you?" Lester asked, while pointing at the Explorer parked behind my Buick.

"You haven't talked to Ranger this morning?" I asked, not completely believing them.

"Nope. We're all off today, so we thought we'd run with you. We were expecting a large gathering," Lester said, dropping a kiss on my head. I handed him my cell and waited while he read it and passed it around. They each looked up from the phone and looked slightly panicked.

"Okay, so again where's Ranger?" Bobby asked, handing me back my phone as it started ringing.

I looked at the display and smiled. "Yo," I said.

"I didn't send them, Babe," he said.

"Jeez not even yo yourself, but I figured that out already. I'll call you after my run with the four stooges," I said, grinning and disconnected.

"Please don't tell me you did what I think you did?" Lester said, narrowing his eyes at me.

I shrugged and did the palms up thing. He narrowed his eyes further. "I did what I have to do. I have to do this on my own. If you all choose to run with us, then you do it as my friends not my guards. I have no guards on this run."

"That's incredibly brave and stupid at the same time," Lester said.

"It is what it is."

"Shit," Lester said, running his hands down his face. "Fine, lead the way."

Lula and I started walking down the side path, keeping our eyes open and alert. All I could think about was watching out for little red dots. It was just insane. We broke into a jog. I really hoped I was reading him right. What if I was wrong and he was entirely ready to end the game? What if I just put myself in a position to get myself killed, when I could have just ran at RangeMan? I didn't want to die. I wanted to live a very long life wrapped up in Ranger's arms. I didn't want last night to be the last time Ranger and I ever made love. We reached the trees and stopped to stretch.

"I forgot to mention something," I said to everybody. "Under no circumstances are any of you to jump in front of any bullets or little red dots that are aimed at me. Tackle me or push me out of the way, but no risking your own lives for me. Got it?"

Nobody answered me, but I was pretty sure they got it. Would they follow my rule? Probably not, but it was worth mentioning. We finished stretching and took off running. Lula was on my left and Lester was on my right. Ace, Bobby, and Hal fell in behind us.

We ran for a solid twenty four minutes and nothing happened. I saw no dots and it was the worst run to date. I hated the entire run. I didn't enjoy the trees or the smells. And I missed watching the freaking sun rise. That was the best part about running so early. I was on edge the entire time and was so busy watching for stupid little red dots that I suddenly realized the sun was already up.

We rounded the last bend headed to the trees, when I heard a popping sound right before a bullet zipped past me and hit the tree. I ducked down, with the added help from Lester, and drew my gun at the same time. I looked to the right where the shot came from in time to see a little red line aimed at me. I looked down and saw it on my chest. I instantly dropped to my back laying flat right as another shot went zipping past. It was a little too close for comfort though. I had felt the bullet graze me. I quickly rolled to my stomach and started to army crawl as fast as I could out of the way. Another shot hit where I just scurried from, barely missing me. I jumped up and ran behind a tree. Holy shit! I looked to my left and saw Lula getting positioned behind a tree. She had her gun in her hand and she was peeking around the tree looking in the direction the shots came from. She ducked back behind the tree and looked at me. I nodded and crossed myself. Good lord that was close.

"Stephanie," Lester shouted. "Talk to me, Sweetie. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I shouted back. "Fuck that was close. Too close, but he wasn't aiming to kill. He was going for wound or scare."

I could see Ace ducked behind a tree in front of me with his gun out looking around the tree in the direction the shots were fired from. He locked eyes with me before looking me over. He narrowed his eyes somewhere around my middle and looked back up at me. "You're shot Steph," he said, his voice shaky.

"I'm wearing a vest. It's just my shirt. I don't feel anything," I said.

"Shit, you might not feel anything because of an adrenaline rush. We need to get you out of here," Bobby said.

"Junior we ran into a situation. Need you to bring the two explorers through the park and pick us up," I heard Lester say. "Steph, how can they get us?"

"Tell them to take Parkside Avenue and pull into the park. Take a left on the main path and follow it. We'll see them," I said, and pushed two on my cell as I heard Lester relaying the information.

"Yo," Ranger said after the first ring.

"Hi," I said, shaking. God it was good to hear his voice.

"Babe?"

"I'm okay, just shaken up," I said, peeking around the tree again. There hadn't been any more shots since I took cover.

"Explain?" he asked, and I could ever so slightly hear him moving.

"I'm currently hiding behind a tree waiting for my ride to come rescue me," I said, grinning slightly. Silence met me. I heard a motor start, but still no talking. "We were almost finished when a shot zipped by me. He shot at me three times, but never to kill. He could have if he wanted to, but he didn't."

"Are you hit?" he asked, and I bit my bottom lip.

"Steph, the Explorers are here. I'm going out. You stay behind the tree until I say you can come out," Lester said, while creeping by me.

"Sure thing, three shots is my limit for the day," I said, giving him a shaky smile.

"I'm five minutes away. You stay in a vehicle until I get to you. Tank just called Morelli. He'll meet us there."

"Yes please make sure he meets us here. This here is a crime scene, and I don't feel like getting charged for interfering in a case." I dropped my head against the tree.

"Leave it to you to find humor in this situation." I could picture the corners of his lips tipped up just slightly.

"It's all I got left. The adrenaline has left the building, or maybe the tree soaked it up."

"Babe." And he was gone.

"Steph, come out, but stay down. Crawl to me if you have to," Lester said.

"I will not craw to you, Les. I will stay down, but I will not crawl on my hands and knees like a scared little girl," I said, while creeping out from behind the tree and running to the Explorer parked five feet from me. I jumped in the back seat and was ordered to stay down, while everybody else got in. Lula got in after me and Lester shut the door after he got in. Junior drove quickly out of the park and back to where my SUV was at. Ranger and Tank were waiting for us when we got there. The back door was jerked open, and I was engulfed in Ranger's arms. I breathed in his scent and relaxed for the first time in an hour.

"I want this place surrounded. As soon as Morelli gets here I want him in this Explorer talking to Steph, so she can get out of here," Ranger said to Junior. Junior jumped out to start throwing out orders and Lester moved into the driver's seat in case I needed to leave quickly I guess. Lula got in the passenger seat and Ranger climbed in next to me shutting the door behind him. He wrapped me in his arms and held me for a few minutes.

"You never answered me on if you were hit or not," he said into my hair.

"Oh shit, I completely forgot. She was hit," Lester said, turning around to look at me. Ranger moved me away from him so he could get a good look at me. His eyes found the spot the bullet grazed me instantly.

"Lean back. I want to look at this," Ranger said. "Lester, call an ambulance. I want her checked out."

"Don't you dare, Les. I don't need nor do I want an ambulance here," I said, while Ranger removed my hoodie. "At least wait until you know if it even made contact with the vest or not."

"Doesn't matter, you should be checked out anyway after all the bullet dodging you did," Lester said, and freaking called an ambulance.

"Didn't make contact with the vest. It just sliced through your sweatshirt," Ranger said, as he removed his sweatshirt to slip it on me.

There was a knock on the passenger window, and Ranger opened the door revealing a less than happy Joe Morelli. Ranger shifted over and pulled me onto his lap giving Joe plenty of room in the Explorer. He climbed in and shut the door behind him.

"Let's start from the beginning, so I completely understand why you were running in the park when there's a freak out there hunting you," Morelli said, with a dangerously low voice. He was trying really hard to control his anger, and I was in no mood to put up with his anger.

"Not important. You get to know what happened at the park, which was I got shot at three times. End of conversation, so I'm leaving now," I said, trying to move off of Ranger's lap, but he held onto me.

"Drop the Italian male bullshit, Morelli and treat her like you would any other witness or victim to a crime. She's not your girlfriend, and you're damn lucky she's your friend. But friends don't treat each other like you treat her. Nothing gives you the right to come in here and rip her apart. She made a choice that she felt was right. I stood by her and still stand by her. If you talk to her like you just did again I'll be asking for a new detective to handle this," Ranger said, his voice leaving no room for argument. When he got that quite I knew he was as pissed as he could get. "And then you and I will deal with your issues one on one." Oh boy.

"Did you just threaten a cop, Manoso?" Morelli's nostrils were flaring, fists clenching, and jaw twitching.

I was in a seriously bad spot. Being trapped in a vehicle with two pissed off alpha males was not good.

"I don't make threats, Morelli," Ranger said, while lightly stroking my arm. I didn't know if he was trying to keep me calm or trying to calm himself down. It was working on me, but I wasn't sure how much it was helping him.

I saw Les shift slightly in his seat, and I knew things were going to go from slightly ugly to real ugly quickly if I didn't intervene soon. Morelli opened his mouth to say something back and I jumped in.

"Enough, both of you," I said. "Morelli treat me like victim or get the hell out of this Explorer and send somebody else in. I want to cooperate, but I need to know I can trust you. You can't keep things from me. Do you have any idea how pissed I was when I found out you had the tape and didn't tell me about it. This is my life were talking about here. This guy has proven he will kill me, and fully intends to at the very least injure me. Keeping things from me will not protect me. It puts me in more danger when I don't know everything. Ranger's men are putting their necks out there to keep me safe, they need to know everything in order to properly do their job. Can I trust you? Can we work together and help each other? If not, leave now."

Ranger gave me a squeeze and whispered in my ear. "Proud of you, Babe."

Joe took a deep breath and visibly calmed down. "Yes you can trust me. As long as you keep your word and actually work with me, I'll make it a point to tell you everything. I should have told you about the tape. I was trying to keep you out of this, but clearly that's not possible."

"Of course it's not possible. It's about me, Joe. It started with me and it will end with me," I said and handed Joe my phone. "There are few text messages on there from him. The number is blocked, but you might be able to get something if you pull my cell account and do some tracing. I don't know how that stuff works. We back tracked the courier service that sent the letter and newspaper copy yesterday. He sent in the order through the Internet using my assumed name at my apartment, the bond office address, and a PO Box number that's my apartment number."

Joe looked up from reading the text messages and handed me my phone back. "What else?"

"The newspaper won't tell us anything. They shouted out source protection and sent us on our way. I'm not sure what my plans are for the day. I need to find this guy, but I don't know how else to trace him. He's clever and has this well thought out."

"And have you figured out how he knows all this personal shit, yet?" he asked, eyes blazing.

I shifted uncomfortably on Ranger's lap. I didn't want to say what I thought out loud.

"I'll be dealing with that on my own," Ranger said, his voice a low growl.

Joe sneered and let out a humorless laugh. "You berate me for being overprotective and wanting to keep somebody I love out of harm, yet you actually put her in harm by having her involved with your criminal psychopathic thugs."

Lester swung around and punched Joe right in nose. Oh boy.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Fifteen**

The atmosphere in the Explorer was tense to say the least. Ranger and Lester were both wearing blank faces. Lula's eyes were bugging out, and I was doing a damn good fish impression. I was waiting for Joe to say or do something. His cop face slipped off at some point and he was shaking with rage. His hand moved and I flinched, jerking back slightly into Ranger. He locked eyes with me and reached up wiping his nose with the back of his hand. He broke eye contact to look down at the blood. He wasn't bleeding all that bad. Of course Lester didn't have a full swing since he was trapped in the front seat of an Explorer, so I must give him props for making Joe bleed at all.

The tension was broke by my cell ringing. I quickly grabbed it off my hip and saw it was Tanner. Shit was after seven o'clock.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't call. We won't be there today. I had some trouble on my run, but I'll explain everything later," I said.

"You okay, baby?" he asked.

"Uh huh," I said trying to ignore Joe's open mouth. "I'll call you later."

Joe looked at me for a minute or two, shook his head and looked back at Lester. "Step out of the vehicle Santos. And you better hope you're not carrying concealed. I'd hate to add charges," Joe said.

"You can't be serious," I said, dumbfounded. "You're arresting him?"

"He just committed assault on a police officer, Stephanie. Of course I'm arresting him," he said, equally shocked I would even ask.

"You deserved it if you ask me," Lula said from the front seat getting a glare from Joe.

"You can't arrest him. There are very few people I trust right now, and he's one of them," I shouted.

"It's okay, Sweetie. I knew what I was doing, and I knew what was going to happen," Lester said to me with a slight smile. If he was trying to reassure me it wasn't working.

"That's my point right there, Steph," Joe said, pointing to Lester.

Lester's smile grew. "Let me make something clear to you, Morelli, I don't like you. The fact that you carry a badge doesn't mean shit to me. You don't know me, and you don't know anybody I work with. You ever call us a bunch of criminal psychopathic thugs again and your nose will be the least of your worries," he said. "And the person helping this sick fuck track Steph, may or may not be from RangeMan, we don't know for sure. But what I do know for sure is he's certainly not somebody I work with or anybody Steph knows."

"You keep telling yourself that, Santos. Now get out of the vehicle," Joe said. "I'll be back to finish taking your statement, Stephanie."

I grabbed my cell phone off my hip and punched in a number. I listened to a few rings glaring at Morelli. Joe kept his eyes locked with mine, eyebrows narrowed.

"Hello," Connie said into my ear.

"Lester's been arrested. I need you to get to the station and get him bailed out," I said, watching Joe get angrier.

"Bail won't be set for another few hours, unless I make a call to a judge," she said. "What happened?"

"Make the call. I got shot at this morning so the guys are on edge. And Morelli, the dumb ass, felt the need to unload his clip in a vehicle marked explosive," I said.

"So Santos exploded on a cop."

"Yep."

"I'll make a call and head to the station. Vinnie left to go pick a guy up out of state last night, so I'm doing all the bail bonds."

"Thanks Connie," I said and hung up. "I won't forget this Morelli."

He looked at me, and for a moment, I thought he might change his mind. But he threw open the door, slamming it behind him, and walked around the front of the Explorer.

"Sorry Ranger," Lester said while removing all his weapons. He handed them to Lula and climbed out.

Joe indicated for him to turn around and face the Explorer. He patted him down and cuffed him. He spun Lester around to walk him to a police cruiser and came to a wall of black. All the guys were standing side by side blocking their path. They looked murderous. Tank stepped forward and talked with Morelli and Lester. He locked eyes with Lester and nodded his head. He turned around and must have said something because the guys parted and let Morelli escort Lester to the cruiser. He put him in the back seat and talked to Carl and Big Dog for a second, before he walked back to the Explorer through the wall of black. If he was nervous, he was doing a damn good job of hiding it.

"Let's go over what happened this morning," Joe said once he was back in the vehicle.

I nodded, figuring I should just be honest and cooperate for now. I leaned into Ranger a little more. He gave me a light squeeze and touched his lips to the back of my head. He hadn't said anything since Lester punched Morelli. I wasn't sure if he was watching and waiting or if something was bothering him. His behavior was odd to me. He was usually a quiet guy, but not this quiet.

"I got the text this morning at five o'clock. Ranger had added two more guards to my run, but I declined having anybody join me but Lula. It was something I felt like _I_ needed to do. I had a strange feeling that if Ranger was with me or obvious guards were with me, he'd go after them. I couldn't live with myself if that happened. I know it was stupid, so you don't have to harp on me. I should have listened to Ranger and ran at RangeMan, but it was just something he said in the text, or maybe how he said it. I don't know. All I know is I felt that I had to stay exposed, but to leave the others behind. Les, Bobby, Ace, and Hal showed up on their own this morning. They ran with us as friends not guards," I said while rubbing small circles on Ranger's hand that was around my waist holding me to him.

"Everything went fine until we were almost finished. Lula and Les were running on both sides of me, so the guy took his time on placing that shot. The first shot barely missed us. He timed it perfectly. It zipped right in front of the three of us and hit a tree. I instantly went for my gun and ducked down at the same time. I lost sight of everybody else after that. I went into survival mode. I saw the red beam aimed at me, the dot was on my chest, so I flattened out and the shot tore through my sweatshirt, but missed me. I rolled to my stomach and army crawled to the trees. The third shot was late, almost like he was letting me get away unharmed. He shot at the spot I was before rolling to my stomach. Then everything stopped as soon as I got behind a tree. Les called Junior to come get us, and I've been in the Explorer since then."

The driver's side door opened and Tank slid in behind the wheel. He was wearing a blank mask, but I'd gotten to know him pretty well over the last eight weeks and I could tell he was simmering to a boil. I only hoped he had better control than Lester. That was all we needed was Tank joining Lester in the big house.

"What direction did the shots come from?" Joe asked.

I didn't answer right away. I knew what direction the shots came from, and that was what bothered me. Tank and Lula both turned and looked at me.

"Babe?" Ranger questioned raising his eyebrow.

"The shots came from the area I park my SUV at," I said, looking at Ranger. His face showed anger for just a second before the blank mask slid into place.

"Where was Junior when Santos called him?" Joe asked, eyebrows lifted.

"Parked behind my SUV," I said, looking away from Ranger.

"Unbelievable," Joe said.

"I suggest you be very careful about what you are implying, Morelli," Lula said. "Unless you want a black eye to match that bloody nose."

"Watch what you say to me right now, Lula. I'm not in a very good mood," he said, glaring at her.

"Look, Joe, obviously somebody is trying really hard to make it look like RangeMan is behind all this. Junior and Ram would never shoot at me. They would never do anything to hurt me. And I don't blame them for not seeing anything. Who knows how far away this guy was. I'm sure he didn't take up camp next to the Explorer passenger door and take shots at me," I said.

"Right that must be it, Cupcake. Somebody is trying really hard to make it look like RangeMan. Couldn't possibly be any other options," Joe said, shaking his head.

"Morelli, I'm losing my patience with you," Ranger said.

"I'm not concerned with your patience level, Manoso. My job is to look at all possible suspects. Right now my list includes your men. And don't think for a second I won't extend my list to include you as well," Morelli said.

I felt Ranger tense under me, and I was not going to allow Morelli the chance to arrest Ranger as well. I tightened my hold on Ranger's hand and looked pointedly at Joe.

"Ranger would never, ever do anything to harm me. Build your list of suspects however you see fit, but keep it to yourself," I said, with my jaw clenched. "What else do you need, Detective Morelli?"

Joe's eyes flashed with anger for a split second and it was gone. "I need to see anything and everything you've received regarding this threat. I don't want to know what your instincts tell you, and I don't want to know what you think. I'll make up my own mind regarding my case. Just give me the facts and evidence. Nothing more and nothing less," he said in his cop tone.

"Fine. Nothing more, nothing less. The courier company that delivered the newspaper and letter to me was Golden Express on Broad Street. The guy that keeps leaving all the messages in or on our cars is white. I'll forward the text messages to your cell today and anymore I get from now on," I said.

Detective Morelli was the only person sitting in front of me. I was heart broken, but I wasn't going to allow him to know how much he was hurting me. I wanted Joe, my friend, to be in the vehicle as well. We hadn't been friends since the day everything ended between us. He said we would always be friends, but that wasn't what really happened.

Joe nodded and opened the Explorer door. Just before he shut the door my mouth opened all on its own.

"Joe," I said. He looked up at me curiously. Crap now what. I let out a sigh. "I'm really sorry I hurt you, and I really do want to be friends, but I can understand why that's not possible. I just hope that we can work together without all this animosity. It's not very productive." He blinked at me, showing no emotions. "I really am sorry. I'll always consider you a friend even if we can't be friendly."

He shut the door and walked away without looking back. Ranger gave me a nudge, and I exited the vehicle. I was instantly surrounded. They escorted me over to the ambulance, and I couldn't suppress the eye roll. I climbed inside and Ranger followed me. The doors were closed, and I was asked to remove the sweatshirt, vest, and to lift my tank top. They asked me a bunch of questions about pain, inspected my ribs and stomach where the bullet grazed. I was allowed to put my shirt back down a minute later and was instructed to push my pants up as far as they would go. I had some bruising and scrapes on both knees and elbows. They tended to the minor injuries quickly and let me go. I slipped the vest and sweatshirt back on and was escorted to my SUV.

Ranger opened the back door for me. I lifted my eyebrow and he nodded his head for me to get in. "Move to the far back seat and get down," he said as I got in. He shut the door and talked with the guys for a second. Bobby climbed in the front seat and Hal and Ace climbed in the back seat. Ranger walked around and got in the driver's seat. He started the engine up and pulled away from all the police cars.

"Wait what about Lula?" I said.

"She's going with Tank to get Lester," Ranger said, locking eyes with me in the review mirror. "Get down, Steph."

"Don't you think you're over doing this just a tad?"

"No I don't. Please stay down, Babe," he said, locking eyes with me in the mirror.

I sighed and slouched down in my seat. At least it was only a five minute drive. I looked at my cell phone time, quarter to eight. I flipped my phone open and forward the text messages to Joe's cell phone. I closed my cell just as Ranger pulled the Buick into my parking spot at my apartment. I grabbed my equipment bag and got out behind Hal. Ranger took my bag and grabbed my hand. We took the stairs to the third floor and stopped outside the door. Ranger unlocked the door and entered turning off the alarm. I walked in and Ranger stepped back out into the hall to talk to the guys for a minute.

I walked into the kitchen and dropped my bag on the table. I grabbed a water bottle out of the fridge and wandered back out. Ranger was leaning against the wall in the hall. I stopped and looked at him curiously. He walked toward me, backing me into the wall. He placed a hand on each side of my head and dropped his mouth to mine. The kiss bordered on painful. I whimpered lightly, and he eased back. He brushed his thumb across my lips and leaned back down kissing me softly. I wrapped my arms around his neck pulling him closer to me. He picked me up, carrying me to the bathroom. He stripped us out of our clothes and put us in the shower. He washed us both quickly and backed me into the shower wall.

"Babe," he said

"I'm sorry," I said. "I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have demanded I run and at that run alone. Something horrible could have happened this morning, and I would have been responsible."

Ranger held my eyes for a moment. "Only partly responsible. I would have been to blame as well. I went against all my instincts and training by letting you go this morning. I can't let that happen again," he said, caressing my cheek.

"What do mean?"

"I mean I agreed with your decision this morning for one reason only, and I can't do it again. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if something happened to you because I didn't argue with you about your decision."

"Why did you agree?"

"I know how you get when you think somebody is trying to tell you what to do. You do the exact opposite and run away as fast as your feet will carry you. I didn't want you to run away, so I gave in without a fight. I can't do that again. If you feel like you have to run away from me, then I have to accept that. But you need to understand, I won't do the time out thing. You run away instead of sticking and actually having an adult conversation then we're done. We're going to fight. We will argue and disagree, but if we're going to be together we need to be able to talk. It can't always be what you want, or what I want. It's about us. And I need to know that you are sure about us. I need to know that we're in this together."

His hand was on my back, gently caressing. I tucked myself in closer to him, needing his heat. I didn't do this emotional stuff. I did food and Italian hand gestures. He was right, though, I ran when shit got rough. And nobody has ever stopped me. Joe was always more into the actual fight and didn't pay much attention to the flight. Truthfully he was probably relieved I took flight. He never tried to stop me, and he never really seemed too busted up when we took a time out.

I placed soft kisses from his chest to his ear. "I'm sorry I put you in that position. That's not what my intentions were, and I didn't plan to run away. I don't want to run away from you, but you're right that's what I do. What I need from you is to not let me do that anymore. I need somebody that's willing to hang onto me. Somebody that won't let me run away. Somebody that is willing to fight for what we have, for me. I'm not good with emotions. That's why run. I feel the pull of something real, a conversation that might require me to use real feelings instead of inherited hand gestures, so I run. Avoidance in hopes all will be forgotten. I don't want to do avoidance with you, but that's who I am. Its second nature like your blank face. If you sense at times my need to run, I'm not running from you or from us. I want you to pin me to a wall and force me to stick. Force me to be real," I said, leaning against the shower wall looking into his eyes.

"Babe," he said bring his hands up to cup my face. He lowered his mouth to mine, taking my lips with his in a slow torture. His hands lowered. Sweeping down my body, touching and teasing. His fingers ran up the inside of my thighs finding that spot. I moaned into his mouth, tightening my grip on his lower back.

_Beep, beep, beep_ indicated a new text message on my cell phone.

We froze mid kiss. Tongues stopped caressing. Fingers ceased all torture.

Ranger pulled away from me, let out an uneven breath, and shut off the water. He wrapped us both in towels and grabbed my phone. I walked up behind him wrapping my arms around his waist and looked around his dripping torso at my phone in his hands.

"Open it," I said, biting my bottom lip. He flipped open my phone and the text message. The message appeared, but I couldn't see it. My vision was blurred with frustrated tears. I was all out of patience and slowly losing all the happy I had in me. If I didn't have Ranger with me, if I was alone I would be on the next flight to Jamaica where I could work on my tan. I winced, maybe not Jamaica. That would require getting a really uncomfortable and painful bikini wax, and my pain tolerance was dwindling.

"I still don't like your decision. It was too risky and bordered on reckless," Ranger said.

"What? I thought we talked about this already. I know it was stupid. I don't need you to keep reminding me of it," I said, moving away from him. He grabbed my arm before I even got half a step from him. He pulled me back to him and wrapped his arms around me.

"I didn't say stupid. I said risky and bordered on reckless. You obviously had some gut feeling that made you take the risk, but I don't have to like it, and I don't have to agree with it. You clearly were right with your gut feeling, like you usually are. You aren't stupid, your actions weren't stupid, weren't baseless. You had a feeling and you went with it. It was dangerous, and I hate that you went through with it, but I would never use the word 'stupid' with regards to you."

He was holding me firmly in his arms. I guess he was taking the running away thing very seriously. Wait, what did he mean right about my gut feeling? I raised my eyebrow hoping he would get the meaning. The corners of his lips tipped up just slightly. I was amusing him again.

"You didn't read the text message did you?" he asked, breaking into a full grin.

I debated giving a flip answer for a split second. "No, what did it say?"

Ranger flipped open my phone again from behind my back and read the message from over my shoulder. "_I'm pleased to see I was correct in my assumption that you are not a stupid woman. I've gave you several warnings that I'm the only person that can guarantee your safety. Your bodyguards' lack of understanding was beginning to frustrate me. I must say I was slightly disappointed you didn't allow me the pleasure of reducing your protection. Thus the reasons for the shots, as I'm sure you figured out they weren't for the kill. Merely for my entertainment. And you didn't disappoint. I was highly entertained."_

"He's slipping," Ranger said, closing my phone.

"Uh huh," I said, thinking about what he said.

"What are you thinking?" he asked while drying me off.

"His wording," I said, leaving the bathroom.

"He's very specific about his wording. And I don't particularly like the words entertainment or disappoint. I have a hard time believing anything is a coincidence with him," he said, dragging clothes out of a bag.

I watched him pull his black cargos up over his hips leaving them unbuttoned. He slipped a black t-shirt over his head and lifted his head locking eyes with me. He raised an eyebrow at my staring. I gave him a slow smile of appreciation. I didn't want him to think I'd for a second forgotten how amazingly handsome he is.

I flicked my eyes to the bag on the floor in my dressing closet before looking back at him. "There's plenty of room in my closets. You don't need to live out of a bag," I said while turning to find something to wear.

Ranger snaked his arms around my waist, pulling me snug against him body. "That's a big invitation, Babe," he said, nuzzling my neck. He placed a kiss under my ear and touched his tongue to the same spot. He fingers pulled at the towel, separating it, and dropped it to the floor.

And his cell phone rang.

I dropped my head back on his shoulder. He chuckled a little holding me close as he opened his phone.

"Yo," he said, rubbing circles low on my stomach dragging a loan moan from deep in my throat. "Really," he said, sounding slightly surprised. "See you ten." He hung up and leaned down kissing my neck. "Morelli dropped the charges on Lester."

I spun around in his arms. My eyes were wide in disbelief. I smiled and felt like just maybe Joe and I could be friends after all. I grabbed Ranger's cell from his hand and dialed Joe's cell number. I went to voice mail after two rings, meaning he refused the call. I rolled my eyes when I realized I was calling from Ranger's cell.

"Thank you," I said after the recording and hung up. I handed Ranger back his cell phone, kissed him softly on the lips, and went about finding clothes again. I'd given up on the possibility of a Ranger induced orgasm. Too many mood killers.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Sixteen**

I was standing in my kitchen trying to figure out what to make for breakfast when Lula, Tank, and Lester arrived. Lula walked in the kitchen carrying a box of donuts. I smiled at her appreciatively while grabbing a Boston Cream, and moving into the dinning room where the guys were all huddled, talking quietly. I really wanted to talk to Lester. I had to find out why Joe dropped the charges.

I spotted Ranger and Lester talking in the corner of the room, and I knew Lester was in for a nice sized ass chewing. Ranger worked hard at keeping a low profile and a clean business. He hired men that he knew could keep their cool in any situation, in and out of work, and Lester lost his cool. He allowed Morelli to get under his skin, and now there was a trust issue. Ranger needed to be sure he could trust Lester to keep his head in the future. There was some nodding and they separated, both turning to look at me. Lester winked at me and moved to the table with the other guys. Ranger walked to me with a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Lula to the rescue," Ranger said, grinning at the doughnut in my hand.

I smiled and took a bite. "Death by doughnut, yum."

"Babe."

I looked at the guys and back to Ranger. Something was going on, and I had a feeling I knew what it was. "So what's the plan? We need to track this guy down, and soon because he's creeping up on my last nerve," I said, leveling Ranger with a look.

"Babe, we need to talk about …"

"Ranger?" a voice said from by the door.

Ranger walked over to the announcement panel and pushed a button. "Yeah," he said.

"Three packages were just delivered by courier service for Carlos Manoso, Lula, and The RangeMen Bodyguards," the voice said again.

"Bring them up," Ranger said.

His jaw was tight and his fists were clenched at his side. I'd never seen him try to control his anger before. He always appeared to be in complete control of any situation. It was kind of refreshing to see him struggling.

My cell phone rang startling the shocked silence in the room, and I flipped it open quickly without checking the display. "Yo," I said, with my eyes locked on Ranger.

"I just got a package from your insane stalker, Cupcake," Joe said.

I exhaled an unsteady breath and put my cell on speaker phone. "Three just got delivered to Ranger, Lula, and the guys. One of the guards is bringing them up now. Have you opened yours yet?" I asked him.

"Yeah, there's a picture of the two of us at the park just after you opened the first note and a short note to me about you," Joe said, in a tense voice.

"Are you going to tell me what the note says," I asked just as there was a knock on my apartment door.

Ranger moved to the door with Tank right behind him. They both had their guns out as Ranger looked through the peep hole. He relaxed just slightly as he entered in the code to deactivate the alarm and opened the door carefully. One of the guards handed him three manila envelopes, a note, and left without uttering a word.

"I take it that was the delivery service?" Joe said.

I made an affirmative noise and waited for him to read the note. He sighed and cleared his throat. I lifted my eyebrow at the phone. What was it with all the men in my life doing odd things this morning?

"The note says '_She betrayed you. She threw your trust and love in the gutter when she handed her body and heart over to another man. The other man that is in her bed every night, did you know that? She strung you along for years, making you think she wanted what you wanted. And all the time she was kissing another man. But you still love her don't you? Is that love strong enough to risk your life for hers? And will she allow you to if you're given the chance?'_" Joe said and lapsed into silence.

The note was like a punch to the gut. I was a horrible person. I felt like a user as well as a huge slut. I sank into a chair and covered my face with my hands. I didn't think I could handle what the rest of the notes said. What was his deal now? I didn't fully understand this new development. I thought I had him figured out, but this type of note was beyond me. He went from flat out creepy to psychotic to sending guilt notes? It appeared he was trying to alienate me from my friends and family. Was he aiming to push them from me or me from them? I took my hands down from my face and looked around the room. Everybody was silently watching me.

"Who's next?" I asked, wanting to get the notes over with. Lula opened her envelope and held up a picture of us coming out of the bathroom at the mall just before our date with the guys. It was an amazing picture, and if the situation that delivered the picture wasn't beyond sickening I would want a copy.

"_'She's so much more than just your partner isn't she? She saved you. She changed your life. What are you willing to do to save hers? Will you risk your life for hers if given the chance? Will she let you?'_" Lula read as her eyes welled up with tears.

"Next," I said, in a squeaky voice. "Please, just read the next one and get this over with." I was beginning to understand his twisted mind. He was trying to get me to push everybody away. If everybody was gone it was open season on Stephanie.

Tank cleared his throat and opened the package for the Merry Men. He pulled out three pictures of me and some of the guys. He cleared his throat again and held the note in front of his face. His eyes scanned the message and his jaw got tighter and tighter the further he read.

"Tank, just read it please," I said.

He sent me a look of refusal, but I held his eyes waiting. He looked away catching Ranger's eyes. Ranger gave him the barely there nod. Tank looked back at the note and let out a breath.

"'_How many accidents have you all been in because of the beautiful Bombshell Bounty Hunter? Shot, broken leg, concussion due to child birth, and stunned with their own stun gun. I must say that one I find amusing. After all she's done to you, you still protect her. Why? It can't be just because Ranger tells you to. Is she sucking you all off? She does have a very sexy mouth so I wouldn't blame you. That body of hers is unbelievably hot, too. I bet her sweet ass could drive a man wild. That must be why she's so important to you. But is she important enough for you to kill for her? How about to die for her? And even if she is, will she let you?'_" Tank read.

"Ranger?" I said, looking at him. I just wanted this to be over with.

"Babe, what's the point? You know what he's doing, right?"

"I get it. I just want you to read your note and get it over with." He watched me shift uncomfortably in my chair, taking in my heel bouncing nervously. His eyes sought out mine as he tried to figure out what I was thinking. "Please, Ranger. Just read it."

Ranger gave me a slight nod and opened the envelope. He pulled out the picture and looked at it for almost a full minute. He smiled slightly and turned it for me to see. It was of the two of us in the parking lot at the mall. We were in full contact, touching from lips to knees. Ranger's left arm was wrapped around my waist, holding me tight to him. It was a beautiful picture of us, and I wished I'd never seen it. Now I wanted the damn thing and there was no way in hell I was going to display a picture from a psycho freak in my apartment.

Ranger put the picture away and pulled the note out. He looked it over before reading it out loud. "_Love is a beautiful thing, and she's a beautiful woman. But you can't always protect her. In fact you can't protect her at all this time. All the money in the world isn't going to protect your Babe. I know you are willing to kill for her, and it's just as clear you are willing to die for her as well. But will she allow you to make that sacrifice this time?"_

"No, I won't," I said. Ranger's eyes jumped to mine, flashing quickly with emotions, and then covering them just as quickly. "I've already told Lula and the guys this morning before we ran that under no circumstances are any of you to jump in front of any bullets for me. Move me out of the way any way you see fit. But do not sacrifice yourselves to save me. I could never live with myself if any of you were killed with a bullet that had my name on it."

Ranger watched me closely for a second or two. I knew he was planning something, and I wasn't sure what was going on in his head.

"Okay," Ranger said. "None of us will jump in front of any bullets that are aimed at you."

The guys all looked at Ranger in shock, and Joe made an adverse noise into the cell phone. I knew that was too easy and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He wouldn't just let me have my way without having some sort of stipulation on my part. He grinned at me knowing I was waiting him out for the catch.

"We'll avoid jumping in front of bullets, but the same rules apply for you. If there are bullets aimed at anybody other than you, you cannot jump in front of the person," Ranger said.

"Now wait just a minute. That's not the same. Not even close. Any bullet that would be aimed at any of you would be because of me. The bullets aimed at me wouldn't be because of you. This entire mess is because of me. All of you are guilty by association," I said, half shouting. None of them would be a target if they weren't in my life. If they just stepped away, and stayed out of this mess until I could catch my insane stalker then they would all be safe.

I must have had a funny look in my eyes because the next thing I knew Ranger was in front of me, cupping my cheeks forcing me to look up at him. "Don't even think about it. I will not allow you to even consider what you're thinking. You're giving him exactly what he wants. I'm not going anywhere, no matter how hard you push," Ranger said, while brushing his thumbs across my bottom lip.

"Fuck," Joe said into the cell phone. "I have to go, Cupcake. Listen to Manoso for once in your life." And hung up.

For once in my life? I could make decisions for myself thank you very much, Morelli. If I felt like every person in my life was in danger because they were associated with me then the smart decision would be to remove them until it was safe for them to be back in it. That was what Ranger would do with me. He would remove me from the picture until he secured the problem. Right? No, he wouldn't and he didn't with Scrog, I reasoned with myself. He kept me closer than usual so he could keep me safe. But I didn't need to keep Ranger or any of the guys safe. They could do that on their own. I would only make myself miserable if I tried to push them all out of my life until I found this nutso. I needed them to help me, and I needed the extra protection. This guy was not above killing people to prove his point.

I looked at Ranger again and saw the look in his eyes. He wasn't about to let me push him away. If I did push him away I would lose him. I smiled slightly, and he let out a breath he seemed to be holding. He brushed his lips across mine softly and pulled back, giving me his almost smile.

"Okay we need to figure out our next move so we can track this guy down," Ranger said, while holding my hand firmly in his.

"Well the first step is to give all those lovely notes and pictures to Joe. And the sooner the better. I want the creepy pictures out of my apartment," I said as a shiver ran down my spine. "Then I was thinking about how we could track him down. Can we trace the computer he used to place the order for the courier delivery? I don't know how that stuff works."

Ranger handed his envelope to Tank and pulled his cell phone off his hip. "Come pick up three envelopes at Stephanie's apartment and take them to Morelli at the police station," he ordered before disconnecting and dialing a different number. "Put Silvio on the phone." He waited a few seconds. "I want you to hack into the computer system at Golden Express and track the computer that placed the order under the name Michelle Stephens." He turned his head to look at me. We stared into each others eyes for a moment and he said, "Top," and disconnected the call.

I wasn't sure how I felt about him dictating finding _my_ psycho was a top priority. He had a business to run and clients to secure and searches to be ran. He couldn't just put everything on hold … wait, what was I thinking. Of course it was okay to put everything on hold for an hour or two. There was a freak trying to kill me. The quicker we got a lead the sooner we could find this animal.

"Okay so now what?" I asked, looking around.

"Now we talk," Ranger said, looking down at me.

I looked up into his eyes and knew what this 'talk' was going to be about, and let me say I was not about to let it happen. I jumped out of the chair and squared off with Ranger. "No way. I'm not hiding here while you do all the work."

"Babe."

"Babe nothing. It's not happening Ranger. We both agreed I need to be visible in order to bring this guy out of hiding. Just like with Scrog."

"No it's not like with Scrog, Steph. Scrog wanted to keep you. This guy isn't looking to add you to his Ranger memorabilia."

"_We_ don't know what this guy wants with me. He's never said what he wants, and he's never actually threatened me."

"Babe, please. The circumstances are different now," he said, looking at me as he touched my cheek.

I jerked away from him, taking three steps back. I was pissed. "The _CIRCUMSTANCES_? What, it's okay to use me as bait when you're not fucking me, but once you are then I'm no longer bait material?" I shouted, ignoring all the other people in the room. "You know what Ranger, fuck you and fuck your orders. You don't get to dictate what happens in my life. _It can't always be what you want or what I __want, it's about us_," I said, throwing his words back in his face. I was angry and not paying the least bit of attention to how Ranger was reacting to my shouting. "You know what, just get the fuck out and take all your Merry Men with you. I'll deal with _MY_ problems on my own." I looked at Ranger once more and left the dinning room.

I stomped into my bedroom slamming the door behind me. How dare him! Just because we were in a relationship now didn't give him the right to throw out the orders and expect me to follow them like I was one of his employees.

I threw myself down on my bed and nearly sprang back off when my bedroom door banged open. I looked at the body taking up the entire entrance and felt my eyes grow. Ranger was simmering to a boil staring at me. I'd never really seen him angry, but I'd have to say he was pissed. He took two steps forward never taking his eyes off mine. I would have crawled back on my bed to put more distance between us, but I was unable to move. I wasn't sure if it was fear that was keeping me planted in my spot, or that I was slightly intrigued that I caused such a reaction out of the man in black.

"The change in circumstances was that you were shot at this morning, not that I'm _fucking_ you. He went past sending semi-threatening notes to taking action. That action changed how we must approach the situation now. And if you would have let me finish before jumping to conclusions," he bit out, "I was going to suggest that reducing your visibility for at least one day might create more of a reaction out of him than being visible. When you're visible he's in control. If you stay hidden he loses the control and he might slip, giving us the upper hand."

If it was possible to feel more like shit than I did right then, I'd be surprised. I was at a slight loss of what to say to him. I over reacted seemed lacking somewhat, but I jumped to conclusions wasn't right either. An excuse wasn't needed.

"I'm sorry," I said.

Ranger gave me a slight nod and waited. I knew he was waiting for me to say more, but truthfully I didn't know what else to say. I jumped to conclusions like I always did and stuck my size seven foot in my mouth. Now I was faced with this hanging relationship issue. We were having our first fight and it was because I didn't know how to keep my mouth shut for two freaking seconds to let somebody else talk. He nodded slowly again and let out a breath. He knew I didn't know what else to say. He knew me better than I knew myself at times.

"I'm not walking away from this issue with the psycho," he said, looking me dead in the eyes. I was actually thankful he wasn't. I needed him, and I needed the other guys as well.

"Thank you," I said. What worried me was what he _was_ walking away from. "But you're walking away from us?" I asked as I felt a watermelon sized lump forming in my throat.

He watched me for a moment, showing no emotions, and I felt like my heart was literally being ripped from my chest. I didn't know how to stop the pain that was forming. I needed to hear if he was walking away from me, from us, but I also didn't think I could bear what he was going to say. I'd never felt so much anguish when Joe and I took a timeout. It was usually in a heated argument and we parted ways for a cooling off period. This calm fighting was much more painful, or maybe I was so much more in love with Ranger than I ever was with Joe.

"No, I'm not walking away from us, but until we have this guy contained and out of commission, I'm not going to pressure you about what you accused me of. So you have a little reprieve before I expect to have an adult conversation about why you felt the need to accuse me of using our sexual relationship as a means to control you," he said.

I nodded slowly trying to process what he had said. I felt the first tear slip from my eyes, and I knew there was no stopping what was to come. He wasn't walking away but he wasn't completely with me anymore, either. I could tell just by his stance and the way he was hiding his emotions from me. I swallowed hard and looked away from Ranger's eyes. I placed my hands on the bed and pushed myself up. I nodded again and turned to the bathroom. I just needed to get away. I needed to be alone. I didn't trust my voice, so I just kept nodding as I walked to the bathroom.

Ranger stopped my getaway with a gentle hand on my elbow. I looked down at his fingers holding my arm softly, but at the same time there was no way I could walk away unless he let me. I thought about looking in his eyes, but I really didn't want him to see the flood gate that was letting loose down my cheeks. I didn't want him to see the pain in my eyes. I didn't want him to feel guilty about any emotion he might see in my eyes. It was my fault that I was in pain, so I couldn't blame him for wanting to distance himself.

"Ranger, please. I just want to be alone. I'll stay at home today. Maybe I'll do some phone work on my skips. Just keep me updated with what's going on. If he contacts me in any way, I'll let you know right away," I said, still not looking at him. I placed my hand on top of his and squeezed.

He spun me around so I was facing him and he tipped my face up so our eyes were locked. He gently brushed the tears off my cheeks and kissed me so softly. My lips quivered against his as I clung to him, afraid if I let go he'd walk away and never look back. He eased back slightly, still cupping my face in his hands. He brushed his lips across mine in a caress making my knees weak. He pulled back again and looked me in the eyes.

"I'll call you as soon as I hear from Silvio, and I'll keep you involved in every step, Babe," he said while brushing more tears off my cheeks.

I nodded while I smoothed his shirt of my fist imprints. I looked up into his eyes once more drinking in the emotions that sat there for me to witness. I leaned up on my tiptoes and kissed him quickly before taking a step back out of his arms.

He dropped his arms to his side and leaned against the door frame leading into the bathroom. "I don't like fighting with you. I gave you a chance to talk to me, but you clearly either don't know why you did what you did or you're not ready to talk about it. And I'm not going to force you to talk to me about it."

I swallowed hard and tried to think of something to say, but my brain shut down when I could see what my accusations cost us. I thought about saying it was fine and we'd talk when we caught the psycho, but I'd be lying. It wasn't fine. I didn't like that this issue was hanging between us, and I knew it wouldn't just go away. Until it was resolved Ranger wouldn't be with me one hundred percent. There would be this gap between us that caused awkwardness, and we had finally got to a place in our relationship where we were completely comfortable.

"I don't really know what to say, Ranger," I said, looking down at my fingers.

"I know, Babe." He tucked a curl behind my ear just as his phone rang. He brushed his thumb across my lower lip before grabbing his cell off his hip.

Yo," he said, his eyes dropping to my lips and then back up to my eyes. He ran his hand up my arm and curled it under my hair around my neck. He gently pulled me to him, tucking me under his chin. I sank into him and could hear a man talking to him, but couldn't make out what was being said. "I'll be in touch if I need more."

"That was Silvio. He tracked the computer to an Internet coffee shop on States Street. I'm going to head over there with Tank and check things out. We have a date of when he order the service, so we'll see if anybody remembers anything," Ranger told me while rubbing my back affectionately.

"It would be nice if the place has security cameras," I mumbled into his neck.

"That's what I'm hoping for, Babe."

I caressed my lips against his neck a few times and backed up so he could leave. He pulled me back to him and dropped a kiss on my forehead, both eyes, my nose, and finally my mouth. He kissed me slowly leaving me aching for more. He stepped back and gave me a slight smile before walking out the door.

I let out a shaky breath and headed back into my bedroom. I was just about to flop on my bed in my thinking position when Ranger walked back into my bedroom. I raised my eyebrow wondering what was going on. He walked to me quickly and pulled me into his arms. He kissed me hard and passionately with lots of tongue. He pulled back and I noticed he was breathing just as hard as I was. I wanted him. I wanted him bad.

"I love you," he said, against my lips before kissing me once again quickly and leaving.

It took me a solid ten minutes to get my senses back together, and I flopped down in my thinking position fully intending to think. The only thing I managed to do was fall asleep.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Seventeen**

I had this odd sensation that I wasn't alone. A feeling I didn't like at all. My alarm hadn't gone off, but that did nothing to ease my mind. I was laying on my stomach with my hands under my pillow, and I knew all I had to do was inch my fingers a little to reach the gun that was stashed on my headboard. I kept my eyes closed and reminded myself to stay relaxed as I listened for breathing or foot steps, but I couldn't hear a damn thing over my thumping heart. I wasn't about to open my eyes unarmed, so I slowly stretched my fingers toward my gun.

"You wouldn't shoot me would you, Babe?" Ranger asked, dragging his fingers up my back, easing the tension from my body.

I let out a shaky breath. "Depends," I said, turning over onto my back.

Ranger crept over and covered my body, his arms threading under my shoulders and head. "On?"

I shifted my legs, cradling his body between my thighs. "You," I responded while wrapping one leg around his hips, pulling him closer to me. My fingers slid up his back to his hair, and I pulled his head down to mine. I brushed my lips across his, barely allowing our lips to touch with a slow swirling motion.

He let out a low moan, from deep in his chest, as he quickly took over the kiss, capturing my mouth with hungry urgency. His tongue slipped between my parted lips, finding mine, tasting and teasing me into insanity. I needed him desperately, needed to feel his hands on me, his naked skin touching mine. My hands left his hair and frantically found their way under his shirt. He pulled away for a second to tear it off, and tossed it to the side before reclaiming my mouth in another passionate kiss.

I whimpered and lifted my hips from the mattress, rubbing up against him. "Ranger," I moaned, as I pulled away from the drugging kiss.

His hands caught the hem of my shirt, pulling it off. My bra followed a second later, and his mouth captured my lips again. He kissed me hard and quick before moving down my jaw line, peppering feathery kisses down my neck and across my collarbone. I tipped my head back, giving him better access. He moved lower, stopping at my breasts and cupped each one in his hands. He gently kneaded and stroked each of them as his tongue circled each of my aching nipples. I fisted my hands in Ranger's hair, holding him to me as he licked, nibbled, and sucked from the lower part of my breast to the tip of each nipple until I was quivering.

"I need you," I panted, reaching for his belt buckle.

He captured my wrists, holding them above my head. "Patience," he told me, moving down my body with wet open mouth kisses. He gently nipped the curve of my waist. "I'm not finished with you yet, Babe," he said, working his way across my abdomen.

I gasped as I felt his tongue enter my belly button, making a sweeping motion. His hands slid down my body and around my waist to the small of my back, pressing me up to his mouth. He sucked and swirled his tongue in my belly button, bringing me to the edge, and then he backed off, slowly moving his hands down to my hips. My jeans and panties were off before I knew it, and he was kissing and licking up my leg. He stopped at the back of my knee, lightly running his tongue along the fold. My hips bucked off the mattress of their own accord at the sensation his tongue sent through my body.

I sucked air through my teeth. "Jesus, Ranger," I hissed.

He grinned against my inner thigh, kissing me softly in small circles. Another wave of pleasure hit me. I tossed my head back, arching my body slightly. My breathing steadily started to quicken. He moved slowly up my inner thigh, and then his mouth was on me. I fisted the sheets and was thrashing beneath him, begging for release. He added a finger and then another. I immediately arched up, rocking against him. I came hard and fast and I screamed out his name.

As I was coming back down to Earth, Ranger kissed his way back up my body and settled between my thighs. "Open your eyes, mi amor," he whispered in a husky voice against my lips. I slowly opened my eyes, staring into his lust darkened orbs. "I love you, Babe. Always," he said as he slid into me.

We laid together afterward, still joined as our heart rates returned to normal. Ranger's fingers were drawing lazy circles on my back and hip hypnotizing me to sleep. He pulled me a little closer, tucking me under his chin as his arms came around me wrapping me in warmth and comfort. I closed my eyes giving into the intimacy of his embrace. I was starting to nod off when I realized we hadn't talked about the Internet Cafe.

"What did you and Tank find out?" I asked from my position on his chest.

"I was wondering how long that would take you. I was expecting you to drill me for details the second your eyes opened," he said, chuckling. "There weren't any security cameras but we have a list of the names of the people who used computers that day." He ran a finger down my spine. "Lester is running them now."

"Some unsuspecting girl is walking around banging into walls now just so you could have that list," I mumbled into his chest. He laughed. "What? You act like that smile of yours doesn't cause women of all ages to drop whatever they're holding and walk into walls."

"Jealous?" Ranger asked, dragging me on top of him.

"Of her? Not a chance," I said, wiggling to get more comfortable.

Ranger looked at me a moment, his expression turned serious. I raised my eyebrow wondering where the playfulness went. He ran a finger down the side of my face, and looked like he was just about to say something when his cell phone rang. I glared at the phone, and wished it would blow up. I wanted to know what Ranger was thinking, and knowing him the moment was lost.

"Talk," Ranger said after the third ring. He paused, listening, his expression giving nothing away. "Check the rest as well and check back in with me when you're finished." He disconnected the call and dropped the cell on the bed next to us.

I snuggled into Ranger's embrace. "Do you need to leave?"

"Not yet. I still have some time," he said against my ear. "That was Lester. He found a name on the list that caught his attention. Frank Mazur."

I groaned. Terrific! Now he was using my dad's first name and my grandma's last. I was losing my patience quickly. I hated not knowing who was after me. That was the most irritating part of the situation. The stalking part was old news. An every other month occurrence. But I always knew who was stalking me. This time I had nothing. No picture to give me a clue and not even a general description. I knew I was dealing with at least three men according to Carolyn. She had heard them but never saw them, and names were never mentioned. Possibly one of the three men was the guy in black. But he was very careful to not show us who he was. Sure we now knew he was white, but the more I thought about it, the more I was inclined to believe he purposely allowed us to see his skin color. He was clearly in contact with somebody else and didn't need to look at his watch.

Ranger nudged me, pulling me from my thoughts. "I smell smoke," he said, tipping my chin up so he could see my eyes. He paused for a few beats, just looking in my eyes. I was positive he could read my thoughts sometimes.

"This time's different," he said, brushing a curl off my face. I nodded and swallowed hard. "We'll figure out who's involved in this and take them out one by one if we have to." He pulled me closer to him.

I relaxed into him. "It's Halloween, Ranger," I said, brushing my lips across his collarbone.

"And?"

"I'm expected at my parents' tonight to hand out candy with Grandma Mazur."

He didn't respond right away. His hand continued to slowly rub my back, and I sensed he was playing out all the different scenarios involved with getting me to my parents' under the radar. I knew this messed with the plan of me staying in for the day to annoy the guy stalking me, but I really didn't want to put my life on hold for the creep. I was hoping for a compromise, but after a few minutes of silence I was getting the impression that Ranger's silence had more to do with not agreeing with me leaving than trying to figure out a way for me to leave. I started to pull away from him, when his arms pulled me up so we were eye to eye. He gently cupped my cheeks and kissed me.

"I'll figure out a way to get _us_ to your parents' tonight. I know Halloween is your favorite holiday and you deserve to spend it passing out candy with your granny. I know you're running low on happy right now. I've sensed it for a few days now. If going to your parents' tonight will restore a little of that happy, then I'll make it happen," he told me.

My eyes instantly filled with tears. I held them off, but they were there. I wanted to thank him, to tell him I loved him, but there was a large lump in my throat keeping me from talking. I was undone, so I did the only thing I could. I kissed him with everything I had.

"I brought us lunch," Ranger said against my lips. "Come eat with me before I have to leave." I nodded, and he lifted us both off the bed.

I looked around for all my clothes but gave up after a few minutes. I went into the closet and grabbed one of Ranger's shirts and a pair of his sweats. I slipped them on over my naked skin, and headed into the bathroom. I ran my fingers through my hair, and then pulled it up into a ponytail before leaving in search of food.

I found Ranger in the kitchen warming up my meatball sub in the microwave. He looked me over from head to toe when I walked in the room. My mouth went dry as his eyes raked over my body, darkening by the second. His eyes found mine, and I felt like we needed to head back to the bedroom. I eyed the counter Ranger was leaning on. That would do just fine.

"Babe," Ranger moaned. I flicked my eyes back to his. "Come here."

I took one step to him and there was a knock on my apartment door. I froze for a moment, and then looked at Ranger questioningly.

Ranger looked down at his watch. "Ace and Hal. I'm running a bit later than I'd planned," he told me, but still removed his gun from the small of his back.

I stepped over to my kitchen table and removed the Sig hidden on the underside. Ranger was standing at the kitchen doorway, and indicated for me to wait while he checked to make sure it was indeed the guys at the door. I shook my head and quickly moved across the hall. We moved up the hall, while staying close to the walls, until we reached the door. I leaned across the door and looked through my peephole. Ace and Hal. I gave Ranger a nod, and he entered in the security code to deactivate my alarm and opened the door.

Ace walked through the door followed by Hal. They stopped a few steps inside. Ace eyed me closely, taking in the gun at my side, slightly tousled hair that was stuffed in a ponytail, and Ranger's clothes. His eyes left me and glanced at Ranger. He was slipping his gun back into waist, but otherwise looked like he always did; perfectly put together.

"Are we interrupting something?" Ace asked, grinning.

"Smart ass," I said, walking back to the kitchen. My meatball sub was waiting for me after all. I got the sub out of the microwave and sat down at the table to eat. Ranger came in behind me. He grabbed two bottles of water out of the fridge and sat one in front of me, before claiming the seat across from me. He was eating a salad of course.

"How do you get anything done at work with Ace and Lester around? I can't imagine having them together," I said and took a bite of my sub.

"I keep the leash tight," Ranger said.

A half hour later, Ranger gave me a toe-curling kiss and disappeared out the door. I walked out into the living room and Ace had just finished putting a movie in. "Are you two my baby-sitters?"

"Do you need a baby-sitter?" Ace asked. His eyes never leaving the TV screen.

Good question.

"I'm going to take a shower," I said.

"You do that, princess," Ace said and winked at me.

I threw him a glare and a stiff middle finger over my shoulder and went into my bathroom. I turned on the shower and stripped out of Ranger's clothes while the water temp warmed up. I jumped in the shower and let the hot water ease the tension from my body for a moment. I washed and conditioned my hair, scrubbed my body, shaved all the necessary parts, and shut the water off. Since I wasn't leaving the apartment anytime in the near future, I settled for finger styling my hair, lip gloss, and a swipe or two of mascara. I slipped Ranger's clothes back on me and left the room.

The guys were watching Ghostbusters. Each of them were in full recline on the ends of my sectional. I wasn't completely sure what the heck they were doing at my apartment to begin with. Ranger didn't say, and I didn't ask. Stupid me. I figured they were there to keep me at home or to watch my ass if I decided to sneak out. Of course they might've just come by to hang out. It was their day off, and they were pretty relaxed. Not at all in bodyguard mode.

I walked into the kitchen and put a bag of popcorn in the microwave. I opened the fridge and grabbed a beer for myself and contemplated what to grab for the guys. "Beer?" I shouted.

"Water if you got any," Ace shouted back.

"For me too," Hal said.

Guess that answered the guard duty question.

I grabbed two water bottles and dumped the popcorn in a bowl. I walked back out into the living room balancing the beverages on top of the popcorn. I dropped a water bottle in Hal's lap on my way past, and handed Ace his before setting the bowl down on the coffee table. I grabbed my beer and moved around Ace's feet to the corner of the sectional.

Ace laughed softly getting my attention.

"What?" I asked him.

He smiled. "Nothing sexier then a woman wearing her man's clothes."

I had nothing to say to that. I opened my beer and stared at the TV. Ghostbusters was my all time favorite movie. I could watch it a million times and still laugh just as hard as I did the first time I watched it. I couldn't get into it this time, though. My mind was stuck on freak-boy that was stalking me. He was creeping me out and consuming my every thought. That pissed me off. I was missing out on Bill Murrey for … for I didn't know who. And I guess that was what bugged me the most. I hated not knowing who was after me. There had to be something that we were missing with this freak. Something that would give us a lead. Anything. I just wanted to have a clue. I was having a real hard time believing this wack job was able to lead all of us around on a leash. Okay so that was exactly what he was doing, but he had to slip up somewhere. He couldn't be this good, could he? Better than Ranger? No, not better. He just had the upper hand at the moment. It wouldn't be long now before he slipped up, and Ranger tracked his ass down.

"Steph?" a voice said while gently shaking my leg.

I cracked one eye open. Ace was standing over me. I was laying down on the couch with a blanket over me. My beer was on the coffee table, still full, next to the untouched bowl of popcorn. I didn't remember falling asleep, but apparently I did. I slowly sat up and stretched. The movie was over, and the clock read four o'clock. I'd been asleep for over two hours.

"About fucking time you woke up," Sally said, coming out of my bedroom.

"Sally, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Ranger called me. I'm here to like disguise you," Sally said.

I looked at Ace.

"He'll be here to get you before five-thirty. He worked out some plan to get you out of the apartment without this guy knowing you left," he told me.

"Enough talking. We need to get you ready. I have like a million wigs, colored contacts, and glasses. You need a new look," Sally said, pulling me into my bedroom.

"You're serious?" I asked. I looked at my bed. There were two large bags filled with wigs. He was serious.

"The plan is that when you walk out of this building with Ranger tonight, this guy won't give you a second glance. You need to be completely different," Ace said while holding up a red short haired wig.

I couldn't help but think they were taking this a bit far. I understood we were going for annoying this guy to drag his ass out of hiding, but this seemed extreme. I'd been inside all day since the shooting incident. He had to be sufficiently annoyed. I could leave as myself and that might drag him out trying to get to me. Of course I didn't want him trying to attack me while I was at my parents' house, so maybe I'd just go with Ranger's plan.

"So I get myself a new identity? What about Ranger? He'll certainly take more than a second look if there is some woman walking out of my apartment complex with Ranger," I said.

"Ranger is taking care of his own appearance," Ace said.

Interesting.

"Why don't I just leave in my Halloween costume? He won't know it's me since you can't see my face," I explained.

All three guys smiled.

"You have a costume?" Sally asked.

"Yeah," I said, "I'm Batgirl."

"Well that's fitting," Hal said, grinning.

"Yeah, but it wont fit with Ranger's plan, so sit your ass down and let me do what I fucking came here to do," Sally ordered.

I sat down on the chair in my room and watched in horror as Sally paired up different outfits from my closet with wigs. He tried every style of wig imaginable on my head, as well as different styles of glasses. After an hour a wig was selected.

"Here," Sally said, shoving two items in my hand "put these in."

I looked down at the items and realized they were colored contacts. He wanted me to do what? Put them in? As in touch my eyeballs? Not gonna happen.

"Let me wash my hands, and I'll put them in for you," Hal said, walking into my bathroom. He came back out a minute later and kneeled in front of me. He opened the first container and told me to relax. He opened my eye with two fingers and used a third to place the contact on my eye. I felt it seal over my eye, and it was by far the weirdest feeling ever. He released my eye lid, and I blinked several times.

"Is it good?" he asked, giving me a second to adjust.

"Yeah," I said while blinking a few more times.

"Okay, I'm going to do the other eye," he told me, holding my eye open. He inserted the contact and let my eye close so I could get used to it.

"You're hair is finished. You need to go put your makeup on, now. And fucking remember you're a classy rich bitch," Sally said, pushing me into the bathroom.

I moved into the bathroom and stopped in front of the mirror. I didn't recognize myself, but then again I guess that was the point. My brown curls and blue eyes were gone. In their place were straight, shoulder length, red hair and emerald green eyes. I didn't like the red hair much, but the eyes, I could get used to.

Sally came in the bathroom as I was finishing my lipstick, carrying a pantsuit I'd never dared to wear. It was all black, curvy, and sexy. The pants were slip-on with drapey legs and the top was a backless cami. I looked at the outfit and back in the mirror. What the hell. It would fit in nicely with this new identity I was sporting for the evening. I had red hair and green eyes, I was a wild woman. I could pull off that sexy little number too. I took the outfit from Sally and shooed him out so I could get dressed.

The guys were waiting for me when I emerged from the bathroom. Sally handed me black stiletto sandals. I slipped them on and did a twirl for the guys. I felt like a whole new woman, sexy and powerful. Who the heck needed a Halloween costume? I was already dressed up.

"Damn," Ace said. "I don't even see Stephanie anymore."

"Yeah your attitude seemed to change when we changed your appearance," Hal said.

"You look un-fucking-believable," Sally said, spinning me around again. I suddenly felt like I didn't normally look unbelievable.

I scowled. "Verses what I normally look like," I said.

"You normally look hot, Steph. You are a very sexy woman. We're just in shock that you took this new identity to an unbelievable level," Ace explained, dropping a kiss on my forehead.

"Babe, do you have all my men wrapped around your little finger?" Ranger asked from the bedroom doorway.

I turned and looked at him. My mouth dropped open at the sight before me. Ranger's hair was short, and he was a few hours into a five o'clock shadow. He was wearing a deep red silk, long-sleeved, button up, dress shirt. The sleeves were rolled up to mid forearm. The top two buttons were undone, showing off some smooth mocha skin. His pants were black slacks, and clung to all the right places. I walked toward him, letting my eyes wander.

"I thought you wanted to go to your parents' house," Ranger said as I reached him. He ran a hand up my arm and twirled a strand of red hair around his finger. I lifted my eyebrow in question. "You keep looking at me like you want me for dinner, and we won't be going anywhere."

I smiled. "So?" I asked, stepping back so I could spin for him.

"Nice," he said, the corners of his lips tipping up slightly. "But I must say I miss the wild curls and blue eyes." He pulled me to him and ran his hands down my bare back. "We'll be keeping this outfit, though," he said, kissing me softly. No tongue with the guys watching. He pulled back after a minute and smiled at me.

"So what's the plan?" I asked.

"Are you ready?" Ranger asked me.

I grabbed my small handbag Sally prepared for me, and stared at the gun sitting on my night stand. I wasn't leaving without a gun on my body, but I was having a hard time deciding where to put it. I really didn't like wearing it on my ankle. If I needed it there really wasn't an easy way to get it out of the band quickly, without looking like a fool hoping around. I moved over to my safe and took out my back holster. I slipped my Glock into it and positioned it in the small of my back. I covered it up with a black leather jacket.

Ranger was grinning. "I never thought I'd see the day where you were trying to decide where to stick your gun," he said. "Let's go tiger." He took my hand, grabbed my costume off the doorknob, and pulled me out the door. "We're going out the back door to the car. We won't be escorted in any way. We'll park about a block away and go in by way of the back door. When you answer the door to give out candy, try not to stand right in plain view. Let Grandma Mazur be front and center," he explained to me as we rode in the elevator down to the main floor.

We walked out the back door holding hands. I tried not to look anxious as I walked with my head held high. Truth was I was a second away from peeing myself. I was nervous and scared and excited. We approached a bright yellow Lotus convertible. I tried not to drool too much as Ranger opened the passenger side door for me. He walked around the front of the car and angled himself in behind the wheel.

"This is a hot car," I said. "Where do you get all these cars?" I figured if we were really in a committed relationship, I had the right to know.

Ranger shook his head grinning. "You don't really still think all my cars are stolen do you?"

"You've never given me any reason to think otherwise," I said.

He looked at me for a moment, and then started the car. "Wouldn't that make me a hypocrite if all my cars were stolen?"

"How so?" I asked.

"I hunt car thieves down and take them to jail. I've made more than one comment over the years we've known each other about my feelings on car thieves. And stealing cars doesn't exactly fit into my code of ethics on morally right legally gray," he explained. "The problem is you've allowed street talk and Morelli to do your thinking for you. I have an image that I uphold, but that doesn't mean the image is accurate."

I didn't know what to say to that. And strangely enough, I'd been finding myself in that situation more and more lately. I'd always just listened to the street talk or gossip and never really listened to him. He may not answer my questions directly, but I'd noticed he does answer them in an indirect sort of way. As for Morelli, well he certainly did everything in his power to try and make me hate Ranger. It never worked, but he gave it his all at every opportunity. Ranger bashing was a sport to him.

Ranger pulled into the Burg fifteen minutes later and parked about eight houses down from my parents'. He came around the car and opened my door for me. We walked in silence down an alley toward my parents' house. I was back to feeling antsy again. My stomach was in knots and I was pretty sure it was a mixture of knowing the wack job freak stalking me might not have been tricked by Ranger's plan, and that I felt like a schmuck about the stealing cars thing.

"Is this all really necessary, Ranger?" I asked, hurrying my footsteps to keep up with his long strides.

"No," he said.

"What?" I said, digging my heels in and stopping all forward movements.

Ranger grinned at me. He brought my hands up to his mouth, kissing one palm and then the other. "I thought this might be fun," he said.

"Fun?"

"I was aiming to make you smile, Babe," he said, brushing his lips across mine.

A tear slipped out of my eye before I had a chance to keep it at bay. I reached up to wipe it away, but Ranger took hold of my hands again. He kissed me slowly. "Happy tears, I hope," he said.

"Happy tears," I said with a grin as I pulled him through a few back yards and in the back door at my parents'. Mom and grandma looked up from preparing dinner and fixed me with a stare.

"Stephanie, what on earth are you doing sneaking in through the back door?" my mother asked. I guess the red wig wasn't that big of a shock on Halloween. "Come help me set the table. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

I did as I was told and set the table for dinner. Valerie and her crew weren't joining us since it was Halloween and they needed time to get the girls ready for trick or treating. I was actually thankful for their absence. I had enough chaos in my life without adding them to it. I just couldn't take the galloping, constant talking, crying, and baby talk. Not tonight. Just as I laid the last spoon in place my dad was at the table. Mom and grandma came out of the kitchen a second later holding the food. We all sat down and the eating began.

"So you've been real tight-lipped about your costume, Stephanie," my grandma said to me. "Does this red wig play into the costume?"

"No. The red wig is just a disguise to get me here," I said and pretty much regretted it right away.

"A disguise to get you here?" my mother said, in a higher than normal voice.

"Nothing to worry about, Mrs. Plum. We're just trying to stay a step ahead of this guy that's stalking Steph," Ranger said, his voice calming.

"Well if you say so, Carlos," mom said.

The conversation after that turned to all the latest gossip going around the Burg. I couldn't keep up and strangely I had no desire to keep up. Knowing about other people's fucked up lives didn't hold any appeal for me. I just ate my dinner quickly, had two helpings of pineapple-upside down cake, and shuffled off to change into my costume.

I came back downstairs ten minutes later clad in black vinyl. A tank-top style dress with an attached cape that ended a little above mid thigh, boots that came up just over my knees, gloves to my elbows, and an eye mask. The vinyl belt and bat symbol across my chest were in bright yellow.

Ranger flashed me his 200-watt smile as he saw me. "Cute," he told me, and lightly kissed my lips.

Ranger and I got into the car and headed back to my apartment just after nine o'clock. Grandma and I had a blast handing out candy. I got kissed on the cheek four times, asked out on a date twice, and a marriage proposal. I was completely exhausted. All I wanted was to take a quick shower and go to bed.

Ranger entered in the gate code and pulled into the parking lot. We entered in the building through the back door and took the elevator up. Lula, Tank, Ace, Hal, Lester, and Bobby were camped out in my living room when we got in the apartment. They had a movie going, popcorn in three different bowls, and beer bottles littering the coffee table. If I wasn't so damn tired I'd be jealous that they had such a good time in my apartment without me.

"Damn white girl," Lula said. "I didn't recognize you for a second. I just about reached for my gun."

Good to know her reflexes were impaired. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll be out in a little bit to join you. And I better have a beer left," I said and walked off.

Ranger joined me just as I climbed in under the hot spray. He washed me from head to toe, dried me off completely, removed the contacts from my eyes, and deposited me in the closet for clothes. I slipped one of his T-shirts over my head and sat down on the bed to think.

"Babe," Ranger said, nudging me.

"Mmmpfh," I said, rolling away from his touch.

"Steph, wake up. Come on, Babe," Ranger said, rubbing my back.

I cracked open my eyes. I was snuggled in my bed. Ranger must have tucked me in when I fell asleep after getting out of the shower. I rolled over in the bed. Ranger was propped up on his elbow watching me. He was lying in the bed next to me with the covers pooled around his waist. I could see a peek of his black silk boxers from the top of the blanket. I glanced at the alarm clock and saw it was after midnight. "Please tell me you didn't wake me up for sex," I said as a huge yawn over took my words.

Ranger smiled slightly, but his eyes were serious. "You have a text message," he said while handing me my cell phone.

I pushed the phone away and climbed on top of him. "I'm thinking sex sounds like a better plan," I said, leaning down to kiss his neck.

Ranger chuckled and rolled us back over, pinning me under him. "No distractions, Babe. Read the text message," he said, and then kissed me until I was mush.

I grabbed my cell phone and opened the text message. "_I never took you for a hider Sweet Thing. Or is it that you are a good woman and listened to your man when he told you to stay inside all day? Really all you did was annoy me. And you really shouldn't have annoyed me Sweet Thing. Bad things happen when I get annoyed. Are you snuggled into Ranger's arms right now? Is he holding you close while he promises to always keep you safe? It's a lie. He can't keep you safe Sweet Thing. Nobody can. 659271. Sleep well._" I read out loud.

My stomach dropped when I read the gate code. He could get in without needing to be announced. He could just walk right in the apartment complex and right into my apartment. The only thing keeping him from me was an alarm. For some reason that gave me no comfort.

"He has to get past me, too, Babe. And he'll have to kill me for that to happen," Ranger said, taking my phone from me.

"Don't say that Ranger," I half shouted. The memory of him getting shot was still fresh in my mind even after two months.

"It's not going to happen. I'm just telling you, he'll have to get through me to get to you," he said, cradling my head with his arms. "I'm going to make a few calls, and I'll be right back." Ranger got up, grabbed his cell phone, and left the room.

I threw my arms over my eyes in frustration. I annoyed him by staying inside. That was the plan, so that was a good thing right? Oh hell I'd feel better if he hadn't said bad things happen when he gets annoyed. I mean what did that mean? What type of bad things? Ranger was hopping he'd come out in the open from being annoyed, but I was beginning to feel that he went past that type of annoyed and straight to psychopathic annoyed. That type of annoyed wouldn't be good at all. Especially with him having the gate code to my apartment complex. And what the heck was with Sweet Thing? There was no way I'd be sleeping tonight. Might as well get up and watch a few movies. I could paint my toe nails.

Ranger came back in the room and climbed in bed with me. "Mikael and Bin just came on at midnight. They aren't aware of the situation, but they do know that the gate code will be changed as of eight am. The camera feed at the gates goes right to the communication room, so the guys will be running every person that goes through the gate tonight and every shift from now on until we find him. Pat and Ram are downstairs in the parking lot. I just informed them of the new situation. Cal and Junior are taking up guard duty in your living room in the next ten minutes," he explained.

"Thank you. I feel a little better. I don't know why this guy is shaking me so much. I've been through hell and back and have never been this freaked out," I said, snuggling into Ranger. I could feel the heat from his body seeping into me.

"This guy is different. You've always know who and what they wanted or what they intended to do to you. We don't know anything with this guy. He's stayed one step ahead of us at all times, and clearly takes great pleasure in the stalking game," he said. "You're quite justified in being completely freaked. The guy is psycho."

"I'm worried about how annoyed he seems to be from me staying inside. I don't think he plans on coming out in the open to play. I think I really pissed him off by staying hidden today."

Ranger brushed his lips across my forehead. "No way to know really. I was hoping he wasn't completely insane and would try to get to you. He strikes me as a person that needs to have all the control at all times. We took some of that control away from him today," he said.

I'd gotten the control freak vibe myself. I was just praying we didn't push him too far.

Ranger's cell phone rang just as there was a knock at the front door. "Cal and Junior. They were told to call when they arrived at your door." Ranger pulled on some sweats and left the bedroom to get the guys settled.

All I could do was stare at the ceiling. My eyes wouldn't even consider shutting. I didn't care how many Merry Men this guy had to go through to get to me. I was not falling asleep.

"Babe, are you going to sleep at all tonight?" Ranger asked from the doorway.

I lifted my head and looked at him. "Nope," I said and flopped back down on my pillow.

He chuckled and shut the bedroom door before moving over to the bed. "I guess that means we'll have to find something to keep us occupied then," he said, moving up my body until we were eye to eye.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked.

He smiled.

"Cal and Junior are right outside that door," I pointed out.

His smile widened. "They are in the dinning room working. We're having a meeting here tomorrow morning at eight to go over everything we have on this guy," he said, and then he kissed me.

Somebody was knocking on my bedroom door, Ranger's cell phone was ringing, and my cell phone was chirping from a text message. We'd spent a few hours keeping ourselves occupied and had finally fallen asleep shortly after three o'clock. I groaned wanting to go back to sleep, but knew if there was this much activity at one time something bad was happening. That was the biggest reason I wanted to go back to sleep. When it rains it pours, right?

"Yo," Ranger said while pulling sweats on. He moved over to the bedroom door, opened it, and closed it behind him to give me some privacy.

I jumped out of bed and stuffed myself in sweats and a T-shirt. I picked up my phone and read my text message. '_Check your front door.'_ What? I ran out my bedroom door to see the guys all huddled around the front door. Ranger had his phone to his ear and his gun in his other hand. Cal and Junior were both armed, and I was suddenly feeling quite uneasy.

"Ranger?" I squeaked out. "I just got a text message telling me to check my front door."

Ranger relayed the message to whoever he was talking to and looked back at me. He watched me for a few beats. It felt like a year to me. The longer he stared at me the more I felt like I needed to use the bathroom. I wasn't sure if I was going to pee my pants first or throw up.

"The guys heard a noise at the door just a moment ago, but when they went to investigate the peephole was covered on the outside. We're just waiting for Pat and Ram to come up and check things out before opening the door. Tank, Lula, Ace, Hal, Lester, and Bobby are on their way right now," he finally said.

That didn't help to relax me one little bit. I heard some noise outside the door, and Ranger give the all clear sign to Cal. He deactivated the alarm and opened the door. Ram was holding an envelope. I saw spots and my knees gave out on me. Ranger was at my side in a flash, pushing my head down between my knees. He got to my front door and nobody knew.

Once the spots were gone, I stood back up, and took the envelope from Ram. I looked around at the guys and wasn't sure if I even wanted to open the damn thing. I was running on a little over two hours of sleep and pure adrenaline. I swallowed hard and opened the envelope. A picture was on top of a letter. I pulled the picture out first. The second my brain realized what it was seeing, I screamed. My hands were shaking and I was quickly trying to get to the letter inside the envelope. The picture dropped to the floor in my desperation. I briefly saw Ranger pick up the picture and mutter, "fuck". At last I got the damn letter out of the envelope and read it out loud.

"_My morning started with kidnapping your family. Held individually and somewhere specific. Safe until their scheduled fate. Countdown begins at ten o'clock. An hour you have per individual. Value the time I am giving you. Each hour somebody dies. Fear what an hour means._"

I was barely able to speak through the sobs. Tears were streaming down my cheeks, and I didn't know what to do. We didn't know who was doing this, so how could I possibly find my family in time. I looked up at the picture in Ranger's hand again. My mom, dad, grandma, sister, Albert, Mary Lou, Sally, and Connie were bound and gagged.

I locked eyes with Ranger, and all I could feel was anger. I took a step away from him. "This is your fault," I said.


	19. Chapter Eighteen

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Eighteen**

Ranger's eyes flashed with shock for a split second, and then all emotion disappeared. My eyes instantly filled with tears at what I said. I couldn't believe I was being so harsh. I could feel his eyes on me, but I couldn't see anything beyond the tears welled up in my eyes. I blinked, clearing my vision, if only for a second. He was watching me, his chocolate brown eyes assessing.

I shook my head slightly, trying to make room for a clear thought. '_Bad things happen when I get annoyed,'_ echoed through my head. I annoyed the hell out of the dickhead stalking me, by staying inside all day. He just didn't do what Ranger hoped he'd do. He didn't come after me. He went after my family. He _had_ my family! But that wasn't Ranger's fault. Nobody was to blame but dickhead, himself.

I closed my eyes, trying to block the picture of them all gagged and tied up from of my mind. I only succeeded in making the picture clearer. My knees gave out on me, and I mentally braced myself for the fall. Ranger caught me before I so much as dropped a few inches, and eased me to a sitting position.

"Open your eyes, Babe," Ranger whispered.

His hands left my elbows and slowly trailed up my arms to my face, cupping my cheeks. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I opened my eyes. He was close, and his eyes softened once they met mine.

"I didn't know he would do this." His voice was tender, affectionate.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, covering his fingers in wetness. "I know. I'm sorry I blamed you," I whispered.

"It was an emotional response," he said, brushing the tears from my cheeks. "We need to focus on the goal, Babe. We have a few hours before that clock starts ticking."

"Right," I said, with no emotion. "I can't seem to see more than a few inches in front of my face, and my legs stopped working."

He leaned his forehead against mine. "We'll find them," he told me, his voice serious. And I knew we would, but would it be too late.

I heard a noise at the door, and Ranger stood, pulling his gun at the same time. I peaked around him and saw Lester and Bobby standing in the doorway. Beyond them were Ace, Hal, Tank, and Lula.

"Move outta my way. My girl needs me," Lula shouted, pushing the guys to the sides like they weighed nothing. She caught sight of me on the floor. "What happened?"

I wiped the tears from my face and stood up. It was time to work. The tears had to wait. "He has my family," I said, passing her the note.

I moved past all the guys and stood in the hall, looking at the camera. I sensed Ranger just before his hand came to rest on the back of my neck. "Who put that on my door?" I asked, turning to look at Ranger.

"The camera feed was cut. The guys are moving through the feed now," Ranger said.

"I want to see it," I said, looking at him.

"I know you do," he said. "I'm having it sent here to your laptop."

"You think he's doing this to draw me out?" I asked.

"I do."

Ranger's cell buzzed on his hip. He answered it with his customary, "Yo."

I zoned out while he talked into his phone. The picture kept creeping into my mind. Something wasn't right. I could feel it. I turned away from Ranger and went back in the apartment. Lester was holding the photo. I took it from his hands and stared at it.

"What's up, Sweetie?" Lester asked, looking over my shoulder at the picture.

Think, I told myself. I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes. What was I missing? And then it hit me. "OMG, my nieces," I shouted. "And Lenny and the kids. Where are they? Are they okay?" I asked, looking around the room frantically. Tank was on his phone issuing out orders before I even finished.

"Babe," Ranger said from behind me.

I turned around, looking at him. He took my hands in his, giving them a gentle squeeze before brushing a kiss across each palm. I knew he was trying to reassure me that he would do everything within his power to get my family back alive, but that he couldn't make me any promises.

I leaned into Ranger, seeking his warmth and strength. I was seriously lacking both at the moment, and was at a loss as to what I should be doing. There had to be something that I could be doing to find my family. I just didn't know what. The emotions running through me were draining my energy quickly. My focus consisted of replaying all the events over and over and over again, instead of trying to solve the problem. I was watching the room filled with people moving around and talking quietly. Hal was setting up my laptop to prepare for the feed. Ace and Bobby were hunched over papers on the dinning room table and talking with Cal and Junior. I hadn't gotten close enough to investigate what they were staring at. Tank was still on his phone issuing out orders for teams to verify the kidnappings and to check on the girls as well as Mary Lou's family. Lester and Lula were just kind of there, sticking close by me, one as my partner, and the other as my protector.

I looked at Lester. He was watching me carefully. He had moved past guarding me because it was his job. It was his day off, yet here he was watching over me. There were plenty of RangeMan guys here to guard me, plus I was securely wrapped up in Ranger's arms. He was here because he cared about me. I was more than a job. We were friends now. The thought brought tears to my eyes. He gave me a slow smile, which I returned.

Ranger's cell rang again. "Yo," he said, pulling me closer to him. I immediately sensed something was either wrong or there was a lead. His eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. "Send a replacement, and have Pat and Ram bring him to me." He disconnected and looked around the room. He had everybody's attention without asking for it. "Pat and Ram are bring Mikael up," he said, his voice deadly.

My stomach rolled instantly knowing he was the inside source. We had a lead, and in about ten minutes we'd have a name. I knew Ranger was going to beat the name out of him, and strangely I didn't have any ill feelings about that. Why should I? He helped kidnap my family. Maybe not directly, but indirectly he was involved. Not to mention he was probably the one that left Sarah's dead body in Lula's car and her blood in mine. I would know the second I saw him if he was the man in black. I'd memorized his body and walk.

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Lester moved to open it, his face blank giving nothing away. Ram gave a man between him and Pat a shove into my apartment. The guy turned around to look at Ram, and I knew. There was no mistaking it. "That's him," I said, quietly to Ranger.

Ranger looked at me for a moment. "It's your call, Babe. You can be apart of this or wait in a different room," he said.

"I'm not going anywhere until I have my questions answered."

"I'm telling you now, Steph, this will get ugly if he's not willing to talk."

I knew what I witnessed with Anton Ward was child's play compared to what I might witness this morning. I was determined, though. This wasn't just about my life and my safety anymore. My family was in danger. There was no room for being squeamish. "I'm okay," I said.

He nodded after a second and turned his attention to Lester. He must have given a sign, but I missed it entirely. Next thing I knew, Lester slammed Mikael into the wall, and Bobby had a gun to his head before he was able to respond. He was cuffed, search, stripped of all weapons, and shoved into the dinning room. Pat and Ram shut the front door, and I was pretty sure they were stationed right outside. I took two steps to my right and grabbed the gun from under my kitchen table. I slipped it into the waistband of my sweats, and moved forward into the dinning room with Ranger just as Ace was securing Mikael to a chair.

Lula was standing just inside the room against the wall. Ranger looked at her and spoke softly. "Leave now if you need to," he said. Lula acknowledged him with eye contact, and then turned her attention to the man cuffed in the chair without moving.

I hung back slightly as Ranger moved forward. If Mikael was confused as to why he was cuffed to a chair, he wasn't showing it. That was a pretty clear sign he was guilty. He had to know by cutting the feed he'd get caught. The RangeMan guys were good. He was the fall guy. He knew he was the fall guy. He was prepared to face Ranger.

I moved around the table to where Ace and Bobby were moments before. All the FTA files Lula and I had worked on for high bonds were littering the table. All the notes and text messages were also on the table. I didn't have a clue how they managed to get all this together. I lifted my head slightly, catching Lula's eyes. She lowered her eyes to the table, and silently moved over by me as I looked at the files.

"Who are you working for?" I heard Ranger ask. I looked up at Mikael. He didn't look all that interested in responding to the question.

Ace knocked Mikael in the back of the head. "Speak up ass wipe. We didn't hear you," he said through clenched teeth.

After a moment Mikael slowly lifted his head up off his chest, and leveled Ranger with a glare. It gave me the sinking feeling that he wasn't going to talk, and it was going to get really ugly soon.

"You work for me," Ranger said, his voice deadly quiet. "You know how this is going to work. You need to answer my questions and things will be a lot easier. You don't need for me to explain to you what's going to happen if you don't answer my questions."

I looked back down at the files and print offs. There had to be something here. The stalking was recent, and by somebody that was sick but smart as hell. I started shuffling the files, separating them into piles of possible and not possible. Lula seemed to pick up on what I was doing as she started distributing files into the two piles as well. I couldn't help the guys get Mikael to talk, so I needed to help the only way I knew how. I was letting my Spidey Sense lead me.

I could hear Ranger talking, asking Mikael questions, but there was never a verbal response. The only response was the guys persuading him to talk. It wasn't working. The guy was determined to not crack. He came in here prepared to be the fall guy. He was taking the beating of his life for some sick fuck. I never looked up. I just kept going through the files. With every blow the guys dealt Mikael I gave a startled jerk. I kept moving, though. Shifting files and trying to find out who was responsible for all this.

After we got all the files situated, Lula moved the not possible pile out of our way. I fanned out what we were working with and grabbed the stalking printouts. I flipped through them looking for anything that jumped out at me. I stopped at his last text message. '_I never took you for a hider, Sweet Thing.'_ Sweet Thing? It had bugged me when I got the text, but I just couldn't figure out why. I looked at Lula. She was staring at the print out, eyes narrowed. I pulled my eyes away from the text and looked down at the files in front of us. My eyes landed on a file, and I got an icky feeling from deep in my gut. I closed my eyes and remembered the way it felt when he ran his finger down my arm. A shiver ran down my body. I opened my eyes just as Lula grabbed the file I'd been thinking about.

"What's your name, sweet thing?" Lula said, fingering the file without opening it.

I knew it was him. There was no doubt in my mind. I looked up from the file just as Ranger's fist connected with Mikael's face.

"Ranger stop," I shouted.

"Stephanie, I told you …"

"No, I know who it is. Stop wasting your energy on that piece of shit," I said, waving the file in the air.

Ranger reached over and took the file from me. He looked at the name and flicked his eyes back to me. "You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. Completely. He fucked up. He called me sweet thing in the text message at midnight. He called me that the night of the apprehension," I said.

"Anything more than just the name you're going off of?" Ranger asked me. Our eyes held, and he knew I was sure.

Ranger looked back at the file for a moment and his eyes darkened to a dangerous black color. He looked up from the file and caught my eyes. I knew he was remembering the night and the next morning. His eyes left mine and trailed down my body, stopping at the one spot the sick bastard's mark still remained. The five perfect fingerprints were still very visible on my left breast.

Ranger turned back around and looked at Mikael. He wasn't looking real hot. They had worked him over pretty good while Lula and I were looking through the files. Ranger looked back down at the file in his hand before handing it to Tank. "Find out when he made bail, who secured it, and which bail bondsman he used," Ranger said, turning his eyes back to Mikael. "What's your association with Mike?"

Mikael's vacant expression slipped as a leering grin formed on his lips. "The great and powerful Ranger Manoso, out smarted by a bored little rich boy. I took great pleasure in being apart of his twisted little games, especially when I found out that bitch was moving in here," he said.

Lester's elbow connected to Mikael's jaw. "Watch you mouth, before I permanently shut it for you," he said.

Mikael spat blood onto my dinning room floor. His eyes locked with mine. I stared back, not giving him the satisfaction of knowing he was creeping me out. His lips tipped up in a menacing smirk. I guess he did ESP, too. "The apprehension at Autumn Realm was a set up. Mike planned the entire thing. Rachel has a thing for watching Mike fuck another woman. She wanted you. She told Mike _all_ about you. He'd been watching and learning about you for weeks, while you two were looking for Ron. He used Ron to get you. Rachel placed the call and set it all up," he said, laughing slightly. "The only thing is you weren't supposed to have the RangeMan crew with you. That spoiled his plans for you. Then you overpowered him, and that pissed him off. Bored little rich boys don't like getting arrested."

I swallowed hard, wishing I had some mascara on. I was seriously lacking courage this morning. But at least we were learning something. We knew who, and now we knew why. I couldn't believe this was all about revenge for kicking his ass. My only problem was I didn't know what the revenge was all about. I didn't understand how I was going to find my family. I understood the separate messages I'd been getting to a point, but the kidnapping message was beyond me. They were all being held somewhere individually, and I had to find them before their hour was up? How?

I looked back up at Mikael. "Where's my family?" I asked. My voice was steadier than I felt.

Mikael gave me a slow stare. "I'm sure if you thought about it, you'd figure it out."

I moved faster than I'd ever moved before, leaping over the dinning room table with my gun out and shoved against his temple. I was talking, but didn't recognize my own voice. "Do you think this is a fucking game?"

His lips split into a sinister grin. "Oh but, it is a game. One giant game."

I tipped my head to the side and laughed as I slid the barrel of my gun down his cheek, stopping at the corner of his mouth. And for the first time I saw a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes. He knew the way the guys were going to treat him. I was an uncertain.

"Do you like games, Mikael?" I asked and paused waiting to see if he'd answer me. He didn't, but he did slide his eyes to Ranger quickly before looking back at me. "I figure you must love games since you've been playing us for days, weeks even. The thing about games is it's mostly about luck. Are you feeling lucky right now?"

His eyes moved to Ranger again, and I gave a little chuckle. "Oh he already had his fun, it's my turn now."

I removed my gun from his face and slowly walked around behind him. I bent down, touching my lips to his ear and slipped my gun over his shoulder, running it down his chest to rest on his balls. "Since you love playing games with my life so much, how about we play a little game with yours."

"I don't give a fuck about your life," Mikael finally said and turned his attention to Ranger. "I got great pleasure in watching badass Manoso being lead around on a leash."

I lifted my eyes to Ranger. His hands were flexed into fists. He took a step closer to Mikael. "Let me get this straight. You put Stephanie, Lula, and my men in danger just to fuck with _me_?" His voice was eerily calm, and I instantly knew to get out of the fucking way. At Mikael's grin, I took two steps back until I ran into Ace.

I knew it was coming, but I still wasn't prepared. I snapped my eyes shut a half a second before the sickening crunch of bone breaking and the following cry of pain. I jumped slightly at the sound of skin hitting skin, and prayed it was ending there. As much as I wanted to strangle Mikael with my bare hands, I didn't want Ranger to kill the guy. Not because I gave a fig about Mikael, but I did care what happened with Ranger. Plus we'd never learn anything if he was dead.

"Get this motherfucker out of my sight," Ranger said. I could tell he was working hard at controlling his anger.

I opened my eyes and studied Ranger. His head was tipped back, looking at the ceiling, his palms pushed into his eyes, fingers tangled in his hair. He looked frustrated, and it was extremely unnerving to see him look so vulnerable. I was used to an in control Ranger. I looked around the room at the guys. They were watching Ranger as well. I caught Lester's eyes and nodded my head to the exit. He got the message and silently removed everybody from the room, as I moved around the chair. I touched Ranger's arm softly, getting his attention.

"I lost it," Ranger said, dropping his arms with a sigh.

"It happens," I said.

"Can't afford for it to happen," he said, still not looking at me.

I reached out and ran a finger down his jaw line. "I won't tell the rest of the Justice League," I said.

He turned and looked at me. The corners of his lips threatened a smile. He dipped his head, bringing our foreheads together and broke out into a 200-watt smile. "Who the hell was that holding a gun on Mikael?"

I felt a flush creep up my cheeks. "I had an out of body experience."

His hands came up and cupped my cheeks as he separated our foreheads. "You scared the shit out of me when you laughed. I thought you'd snapped. I was trying to figure out how we were going to explain gun shots in the building."

"Morelli just arrived," Tank said, pulling us away from each other. "He placed Mikael under arrest and authorized Pat and Ram to escort him to the lock-down ward at St. Francis." Tank handed Ranger a file. "Michael Nickels was released on recognizance Sunday morning at ten am. It seems he is a little rich boy. He called daddy, and daddy called a judge that is in the Nickels family pocket."

"Not only are judges in the Nickels family pocket, but so is half the Trenton Police Department," Joe said from the doorway to the dinning room. "Kirkland Nickels is one of the biggest contributors to the TPD. He was in quite an uproar last Sunday when he showed up to collect his son from jail. The cops that showed up at your apprehension Saturday night, Cupcake, were rookies. They got their asses chewed by the Cap for a half hour."

"He assaulted me, Joe. And the rest of his crew pulled guns on my team," I shouted, as the rest of the guys moved back in the room behind Tank.

Joe gave me a humorless smile. "And I'll be only too happy to rearrest him," he said. "Fill me in on what's going on."

I studied him for a moment. I was slightly apprehensive about involving the police, only because I wasn't sure how legally things were gonna happen. "Are you sure you want to be apart of this, Joe?" I asked.

"I left my badge in the car, Cupcake," Joe told me just as Junior and Cal rejoined us after getting rid of Mikael.

I nodded and handed him the text message and the kidnapping note. I told him all about the apprehension at Autumn Realm, what we knew about Mike and his crew, and everything Mikael had told us. "We still don't know how this all fits together or how I'm supposed to know where each member of my family is being held. I really don't get it," I said.

Morelli looked back down at the kidnapping note. "They're each held someplace specific?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I have no clue where the places are or who is being held at each place," I said.

"Do all the notes maybe tie together?" Lula asked from behind me. I turned and looked at her. "Like maybe he had it all planned out from the get go. Each time he contacted you it was like a piece to the final puzzle. It's a game to him after all," Lula said.

I felt my jaw drop, and I was pretty sure all the guys were equally shocked. It wasn't that Lula wasn't smart, but she normally doesn't figure the stuff out. She's more of the kick ass and take names part of the team, while I played Nancy Drew. But I had to admit she was on to something.

I smiled at Lula and nodded my head. "Got any other ideas as well?"

"Hell no, that was it!" she said. "But I think you need to pay attention to each letter you got from him. There's got to be something to each one."

"Yeah, I agree," I said, picking up the rest of the letters.

"The wording in this kidnapping letter is odd, Cupcake," Morelli said, eyebrows drawn together as he studied the paper.

Lester pushed off from the wall. "What do mean odd?" he asked Morelli.

"I don't know. It just feels odd when I'm reading it," Morelli told him, studding the letter.

"Did you see anything when you read it?" Ranger asked Lester.

"I haven't seen the note yet," Lester said, not meeting Ranger's eye.

A strange look past over Ranger's face. It appeared he was battling with himself on whether to say something to Lester or not.

"I saw the picture, but the note never made it to me," Lester further explained.

"What does it matter if he read it or not?" I asked Ranger.

"Lester was a decoder in the army," Ranger said, but didn't expand on the explanation. He was watching Lester's reaction as he read the kidnapping note Morelli handed to him.

"I'm slightly out of practice, so it might take me a few minutes here," Lester said, reading over the note a few times, eyebrows narrowing the more times he read it. "It's a play on words."

Why wasn't I surprised? It seemed bored little rich boy Mike was smart. I should have known. He'd been playing us like a fiddle from the beginning.

Lester grabbed the photo off the table and looked it over again. His eyes went back to the note, reading. He looked back at the picture and up to me. "I need names here, Steph. I know Mary Lou, Sally, and Connie, but what are the rest of the names?"

"Helen, Frank, Edna, Albert, and Valerie," I said, moving closer to him.

Lester looked at the note again and a slow smile appeared on his face. "I know the order," he said. "He used the number of letters in each person's name for the number of words in each sentence. The first letter in the sentence is the first letter of the person's name. So Mary Lou, Helen, Sally, Connie, Albert, Valerie, Edna, and Frank is the order we need to get to them."

"Now we just have to figure out where they are at," I sighed.

"He seems to contradict himself, though. He says they are safe until their hour is up, yet later he says fear what an hour means. Since I'm not sure what he was meaning by fear what an hour means, I'm going to assume that anything can happen to each person, except death until the hour is up," Lester said, eyes still reading the note.

"We need to anticipate that anything can happen, and trusting him to keep his word that we have an hour per person is not an option. We need to figure out where each person is and get them all out at the same time," Ranger said, looking down at his watch. "It's six twenty-two now. We need to be ready and in place by nine-thirty. I want everybody safe before the ten o'clock mark."

"Yeah well, we have no clue where in place is," I muttered, flopping down in a chair at the dinning table.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Nineteen**

Ranger rested his hand on the back of my neck and gave a little squeeze. His eyes were focused on his men, his voice commanding. "Cal and Junior, head back to RangeMan and get things organized. I want every available employee at the office in thirty minutes. Jack, Pac, Clay, and Wall manning the control room, and Gram and Isaac on field work," Ranger ordered. Cal and Junior gave a nod and left the apartment, each of them already on their cells.

I wanted to tell Ranger that he couldn't possibly pull in all his employees to help find my family, but I knew he'd just look at me, or tell me "No price, Babe." I figured it was pointless to even try to fight him on his decision, and truthfully I really wanted my family back. I was willing to do whatever it took to get them back.

Ranger turned his attention to Tank. "Where are we with confirming the kidnappings?"

Tank looked momentarily uncomfortable. I leaned forward in my chair and lifted an eyebrow at him. "Tank?" I questioned him.

"All the houses showed signs of a break-in and every person mentioned in the note is indeed missing. Lenny was stunned and just coming to when the team showed up there. The kids were fine. We've moved them to a safe house. When the team arrived at the Kloughn house, there was nobody there. We haven't found the girls yet," Tank said, without meeting my eyes.

I shot out of my chair in a rage. "Why didn't you tell me? How long have you known?" I screamed.

"Steph, we're doing everything we can to locate them," Tank said, trying to sooth me.

"You still should have told me. I needed to know what's going on," I shouted, my voice breaking.

"You're right. I should have told you. It was a poor decision on my part," he said, grabbing his phone off his belt as it gave a buzz. "Talk," he said. He smiled after a second and disconnected the call. "Your nieces are fine. It seems they stayed the night at Albert's mother's house."

I let out a shaky breath and collapsed back into my chair. Ranger's hand returned to my neck, warm and comforting. I just wanted to curl up in his arms and pretend none of this was happening. Better yet, to wake up in my bed, sprawled naked on top of Ranger and discover this had all been a nasty nightmare. My life officially sucked.

"Babe, we need to concentrate on finding your family," Ranger said, running a finger up my neck.

I tipped my head back, looking at him. "How?" I asked, defeated.

"Sweetie, I think you might just be over thinking this," Lester said, drawing my attention from Ranger. "You're allowing this guy to get the better of you. You need to stop letting your emotions get the better of you, and let those instincts that you have do the work. Remember, to Mike this is a game."

"So what do you suggest? You decoded the kidnapping note, is there something in the other notes that you can see?" I asked.

"No. I've read all the notes as they were delivered to you. There's nothing there. I think Lula's right. They serve a purpose. We've just gotta figure out what that is," Lester said, picking up the notes off the table. "When I read these I'm getting a certain feeling, but it's not my feelings that are important. We need to work on what you're feeling. I want you to tell me what you feel when you hear them. You need to relax and go with your gut instinct."

"Spidey Sense," I corrected him.

He smiled at me, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Spidey Sense, right," he said, looking at the first note I received. "Stephanie," he read out loud.

"Ramirez," I said, instantly.

"Why?" Lester asked.

"It's what I felt when I read it for the first time," I said, rubbing my eyes. "He used to sing my name. When I read my name, I got that icky feeling that I used to get when I'd hear Ramirez's voice singing my name. I really didn't consider it though, since how could Mike know about that?"

"You have to try to remember anything the RangeMan guys would know, as well as the police force might know, could easily have been passed on to him," Bobby said, holding a tablet and a pen.

"The answering machine tape from your apartment, Cupcake, had him singing your name on it. All the cops in the room heard him," Joe said, stepping forward and leaning against the table beside Lester.

"Do you really think he went to this much effort just to fuck with me? That he's really trying to remind me of all the psychos that have stalked me?" I asked, looking around the room. Nobody answered me. They all just gave me the look that said 'Yes!' "Okay, but you said Mary Lou was first. She didn't have anything to do with Ramirez."

"The locations are about you, about your past. He's letting you know that he knows all about you. It's an intimidation method. You're more likely to be frightened of a person that really knows your past as well as your present," Lester said, sitting on the table. "Think about places that you associate with Ramirez."

"My old apartment and the gym on Stark Street," I said. "I don't see how either place would be possible, though."

Ranger gave my shoulder a squeeze. "Anything's possible, Babe," he said, quietly.

"Hal, I want Delyn and Van doing surveillance on the gym. And a bug needs to be planted," Ranger ordered. "Then call Dillon, at Steph's old apartment building. Find out if anybody has rented her old apartment. Have Manuel and Landon plant a bug and set up surveillance there. Make sure you check in with Cal and Junior so they know what's going on." Hal nodded and moved into the kitchen to make the phone calls.

"What if we're wrong about all of this? What if he really doesn't want me to know where they're hidden? What if he's turned completely psychotic and just plans to kill them all, or maybe he already has," I said, feeling panic creeping up on me.

"We have to believe he's given us the time he promised, Cupcake. If you start doing the 'what if's' you'll never be able to concentrate and find them. Santos is right, Steph, you need to stop thinking with your heart," Joe said, watching me closely.

Yeah easier said than done. But the more I thought about the messages the more I realized he was playing on all my old fears. I felt it every time I got another message from him. I reached forward and took the stack of papers from Lester, reading through them all again. It was definitely like he had studied my past. He knew just the right words to make me feel that old fear again.

I sat the first paper down on the table. "Ramirez."

I reread the second message, picking up on certain phrases. '_I hope you like your present Stephanie. I had fun making it for you.'_ Kenny liked sending me body parts, and Mike had sent me an entire body. But with Kenny nobody knew who was sending me the body parts but Morelli. I read the message again. '_Wasn't yesterday fun.'_ Presents and a game, I thought. "Abruzzi," I said a loud, setting the paper on the table next to the first one.

Bobby started to say something, but I held my hand up to stop him. I just need to get through the messages and then we could talk about where and why.

I looked back down and a line immediately jumped out at me. '_Did you know the most common fear is being buried alive?'_ I didn't even have to think about this one. I placed it on the table. "Con," I said, going back to the pile of papers.

I read the fourth message several times. It made me feel very vulnerable, which was what he was aiming for, but one sentence really stood out for me: '_It doesn't matter where you move to or where you hide I can find you and I can get to you.'_ I suddenly remembered white and red roses arriving in the hotel room in Los Vegas. He always knew where I was at. I placed the paper on the table, still looking at it. "Cone," I said, swallowing hard.

Ranger moved closer to me, brushing a finger along my neck. "You're doing good, Babe," he said, quietly.

I nodded and looked at the fifth message. I read it over and over again. "I don't know. I can't figure this one out," I said, closing my eyes.

"What does your gut tell you?" Lester asked, reading the note upside down.

"My gut tells me Abruzzi, but I don't know," I said, flicking my eyes at different sentences. '_Did you like the article?' 'The shield of protection was cute.'_ The underlining threat was that I wasn't safe no matter what, but there was still the amusement of it all being a game. I sat the paper on top of the second message.

What if I'm wrong, I thought, staring at the pile of messages in front of me. I took a deep breath and moved on to the sixth message. I knew who I was reminded of from the first sentence. The message was clearly about desire. There had only been one stalker that really wanted me. Ramirez wanted to hurt me, but Scrog _wanted_ me. I was to be his trophy, a package completer.

"Scrog," I said, laying the paper down for everybody to see.

I looked down at the last two messaged in my hand. I read each of them a few times. I didn't know. There was nothing that was jumping out at me. Mike was more frustrated in the messages. There was an edge to his words. They were more him. I shook my head and looked up, meeting Ranger's eyes.

"Talk your way through them, Babe," Ranger said, brushing the hair off my face.

"They feel more like him, Ranger. He's frustrated in the messages. I can't figure them out," I said, the defeated tone loud in my ears.

"You're underestimating yourself. I know you can do this," Ranger said, holding my eyes with his.

I exhaled and looked down at the seventh message. I cleared my throat and read it out loud. "I'm pleased to see I was correct in my assumption that you are not a stupid woman. I've gave you several warnings that I'm the only person that can guarantee your safety. Your bodyguards' lack of understanding was beginning to frustrate me. I must say I was slightly disappointed you didn't allow me the pleasure of reducing your protection. Thus the reasons for the shots, as I'm sure you figured out they weren't for the kill. Merely for my entertainment. And you didn't disappoint. I was highly entertained." I narrowed my eyes and read it to myself one more time. "Some of the wording makes me think of you, Ranger. Like somebody close to you. But then when I read it all together it sounds like he's playing with me until it's time to take me out, or kidnap me, or whatever it is that he wants to do with me. This is hard because so many of my lovely stalkers have played with me until it was time. It's always been a game to all of them. But with the other messages there was certain wording that pointed to somebody specific. I don't see that in this one," I said, frustrated.

"Maybe not exactly playing with you, Cupcake," Joe said. "More like letting you know it's a waiting game."

"He's the only one that can guarantee your safety," Ranger said, "and you're safe until it's your turn."

"Slayers," I said, staring at the wall. I shook my head slightly and laid the paper down. The last one was a bit easier after figuring the seventh one out. Mike was pissed in the text, but he still made it a point to say certain things. I laid the paper down on top of the first message. "This one is about how nobody defies him. Bad things happen when he's defied. That's Ramirez," I said, calmly.

"Okay so we have two regarding Ramirez and Abruzzi. And one each for Con, Slayers, Scrog, and Cone," Bobby said, reading from his tablet. "We need places now, Steph. You've already told us two for Ramirez. How about Abruzzi?"

"The house in Pennsylvania," I said.

"And the Farmers' Market parking lot," Ranger added.

The room got really quite at that point. Ranger and I had never talked about Abruzzi. I knew he killed him for me, and he knew I knew. There was never any need for words.

"Boss?" Hal said from the doorway.

"Get Tony and Harper to the area surrounding the Farmer's Market. There shouldn't be any activity at this time of year. And send David and Ike to the bungalow in Pennsylvania," Ranger ordered.

"Any ideas on the other four places?" Bobby asked.

"Ace," Ranger said, "call the control room and have them find out what happened with Spiro's house and the warehouse TriBro was at. Have Cal send Karl and Roy over to Spiro's house, Frankie and Manny to the warehouse, Nate and Woody to the wooded area that Scrog was hiding out in, and Vince and Zero to Vinnie's house in Point Pleasant. I want bugs planted and the teams to stay in place until we're ready to head inside." Ranger stated.

Ace nodded, leaving the room and silence resumed again. I was scared shitless. I couldn't even think about what would happen if we were wrong. It felt right, but my stomach wasn't going to remove itself from my throat until I knew everybody was safe.

"It's seven-o-nine," Ranger said, breaking the quiet. "Steph and I are going to get ready. We're leaving here in 20 minutes. Vests on and armed when we walk out those doors. I'll be driving Steph's car with Morelli, Tank, Lula, and Steph. Lester and Bobby in front and Ace and Hal in the rear. We're going straight to RangeMan," Ranger ordered, taking my hand as we left the dinning room.

I leaned against the door after closing it behind us. Ranger moved forward and wrapped me in his arms. I snuggled into his chest, breathing in his masculine scent. We didn't have very much time, but I really needed to be held. There was no way I could handle what was about to happen. I needed Ranger's warmth and courage. He always seemed to be able to close off his emotions and get the job done. I didn't understand how he did that. I was a mess inside. I wanted to hurl and scream and cry and throw things. Because of me, my family and friends were in serious trouble.

"I know you're scared, Babe, but you've got this," Ranger said, rubbing up and down my back.

"How can you be so sure? How do you just turn off your emotions? I keep second guessing myself. I see them all gagged and know that their lives are in my hands. If I fuck up they die. How do I not focus on that?" I asked, bringing my head up to look in Ranger's eyes.

"It's not easy to block your emotions. I've had lots of training, but whenever you're involved it's hard to focus on the job. When I have to find you, I'm a wreck. You're my weakness, Babe. It takes all the training I've ever had to focus on finding you or helping you, when really all I want to do is rip the room apart," Ranger confessed, touching his forehead to mine.

A sob got stuck in my throat, and I leaned up, catching his lips with mine. I kissed him softly, telling him how much I loved him with my lips. He moved his mouth up my face, brushing his lips across my eyes, down my cheeks, and along my jaw.

"You're strong, Stephanie. I've never known a stronger woman. Believe in yourself, like I believe in you. Like every person in this apartment believes in you. We're all in this together, Babe," he whispered in my ear as he rubbed his cheek against mine. He nuzzled my hair, and I heard him inhale, breathing in the scent of my hair. "Come on, we need to get ready," he said, backing up and pulling me into the closet.

We quickly got dressed in black cargos, black T-shirts, black RangeMan caps, and black boots. Lastly we slipped into our vests.

As soon as Ranger was ready he was on his phone making last minute arrangements for our departure. I used the time to check my equipment bag: first aid kit, defense spray, screwdriver, lock picks, stun gun, flashlight, binoculars, handcuffs, leg shackles, latex gloves, four extra magazines, utility belt, and a double magazine pouch. I slipped my Glock .40 into the back of my cargos, and my Glock 9mm into my ankle band. Ranger hung up his phone gave me a small kiss and ushered me out the bedroom door, with my equipment bag in his hand.

The guys and Lula were standing in the entrance hall waiting for us. Each of them had on a flak vest and their gun at their side. Ranger handed my equipment bag off to Lester and proceeded to the door. I removed the gun from the small of my back and followed Ranger out. We took the stairs down and stopped just before stepping outside.

"Pat and Ram will lead us out. We are taking guard formation around Steph. Guns out and keep your eyes open," Ranger said, pushing the door open.

I was a sandwich again. Ranger and Morelli moved in front of me, Tank and Lula were on my left, Les and Bobby were on my right, and Ace and Hal were at my back. It was rather annoying. One would think we'd get to the car faster without the guard formation, but the guys seemed to move as one and before I knew it I was in the far back seat of my Buick. Ranger was driving with Morelli riding shotgun. Tank was sitting directly in front of me between the two front seats, blocking me from the front windshield. Lula was sitting in the back with me.

We arrived at RangeMan twenty minutes later without incident. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or worried. I was fully prepared for Mike to at least take shots at us at some point. The fact that I hadn't heard anything from him since the kidnapping message had me twisted up. I kept waiting for my phone to vibrate with a text message. He had to know that we were watching all eight locations by now. Unless he didn't care. Or maybe Ranger's guys were that good.

All the RangeMan guys formed a semicircle in front of the vehicles as Ranger moved to the middle of the garage. His expression was serious. "Everybody is aware of situation?" he questioned, getting nods from all the guys. "I need to make one thing very clear before we proceed," Ranger said, quietly. "From this moment on Stephanie is not to be discussed outside of this building. Breaking that rule means, not only will you be fired immediately, but you will have to deal with me personally."

I appreciated what he was doing, and I fully agreed with it, but I didn't want the guys to think that I blamed any of them for what happened. They had no reason to believe talking to another RangeMan employee had resulted in me being stalked. I moved forward without even thinking about it and placed a hand on Ranger's arm. He looked at me, raising his eyebrow

"Can I say something," I asked Ranger, not wanting him to think I was undermining his authority in front of his men. He gave me a slight nod, but I caught the curiosity etched in his eyes. "I don't blame any of you for what's happened. I know none of you intentionally put me in danger, but I would appreciate if I wasn't talked about any more."

I made to step back, but Ranger grabbed my hand, holding me in place. He gave my hand a quick squeeze. "Cal, report," he ordered.

Cal looked down at a paper in his hand. "Stephanie's old apartment has not been rented out, but there are muffled moans and movement noises coming from inside. One male voice was heard saying 'shut up.' Nobody has been seen entering or exiting the apartment. Two cars are parked in the parking lot at the Farmers' Market. One car has a manual detonating bomb on the undercarriage. There wasn't any wiring to the doors or trunk. The inside of the car is clean and no noise has been heard from the trunk. The other car was clean. Spiro's house is on the market. Karl and Roy spotted a coffin in the front room when they planted the bug. They haven't heard any noises coming from inside. The old TriBro warehouse is empty. After the mess with Cone, they moved to a different warehouse. Frankie and Manny planted bugs at all the entrances, but the place is pretty big, so they haven't heard anything yet. Nobody has been seen going in or out. The house in Pennsylvania still has a giant van sized hole in the front. It's been badly boarded up, and David and Ike picked up movement noises and some sort of beeping sound. There's a car in the wooded area Scrog had the trailer hidden. Same situation as the Farmers' Market. Vinnie's house in Point Pleasant showed signs of being broke into, but Vince and Zero haven't picked up any noises yet. The Stark Street gym has somebody inside. Deyln and Van have identified at least one male walking past the window. There's also some muffled crying coming from inside. The man hasn't said anything yet," Cal reported.

It appeared we were right about all the locations, but I was too numb to speak. My family and friends were scared and possibly hurt because of me. I couldn't keep doing this job and having the people I loved getting the shit end of it.

"The bombs worry me," Ranger said, looking around at Morelli. "Can you do anything about it?" Joe nodded, moving out of line to place a call.

"Let's get ready to go," Ranger called out.

All the guys were moving at once, strapping utility belts on, checking weapons, adding extra clips, and I was frozen in place. Ranger took my hand and pulled me to my SUV, where he was handed a bag with his stuff in it. I unzipped my bag and pulled out my utility belt, securing it around my waist. I clipped on a double magazine pouch, with an extra magazine for each gun on me, cuffs, spray, and a flashlight. I removed my .40 from the small of my back and clipped it to my hip.

"Stephanie," Cal said from behind me.

I spun around and was handed a two-way radio and an earpiece. I'd used similar items when I was in training, so I was fairly sure what to do with them; however, there seemed to be an extra part that I wasn't familiar with. I looked at Ranger, holding the cord that the earpiece was attached to.

"Throat mic," he said, putting it around my neck before slipping the earpiece in my ear. "It eliminates background noise." He clipped the radio on the opposite hip as my gun and flipped it on just as Morelli walked up to us.

"I called in a favor, and two bomb squad guys will be here in five minutes," Joe said. He took his radio from Cal and clipped everything into place. "Nice," he said, fingering the throat mic.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Joe?" I asked. "I'm not sure how everything is going to end, but I don't want you to put your job on the line. I'd never forgive myself, if helping me caused you to lose your job. I know it means everything to you."

Joe brushed his thumb along my jaw. "Maybe it means too much," he said, sadly. "My job will be fine. Don't worry. I'm exactly where I need to be."

Morelli turned to Ranger. "Do you have some extra equipment I can use?" he asked.

Ranger's expression was neutral, but I could tell he was working really hard at keeping it that way. "Tank," he said, "get Morelli set up with whatever he needs."

"I need to figure out the teams. Finish getting ready. We'll be leaving here in a few minutes," Ranger told me.

"Ranger," I said, stopping him.

"Not now, Steph," he said, looking at me over his shoulder.

I moved forward, removing my hat as I took hold of his hand. I leaned up to kiss him. The garage was filled to the brim with vehicles and all of Ranger's employees, but I didn't care. There was no way he was walking away from me angry just before we had to leave. I pulled way after a minute, completely breathless. I was molded to Ranger, my arms wrapped around his middle, holding him to me. Ranger's hands were fisted in my hair, his eyes were dilated black, and I was thoroughly pleased that his breathing was just as labored as my own.

"I'm not sure what you were thinking just now, but I didn't like that it might've been something bad," I said, resting my hands on his chest.

"Doesn't matter. It's something that can be dealt with at another time," he said, taking my hand and pulling me with him. "We need to get the teams situated."

Ranger took a list from Cal and they started talking. I wasn't following the conversation at all. The only thing I could think about was getting to my family. I didn't care who went where, just as long as they got my family out. I wandered away from Ranger and plopped my ass next to Lula on my Buick. There wasn't anything more either of us could do except wait. The guys were all ready and just waiting.

Joe came back into the garage with Tank. Two men I'd seen too many time too count were walking in behind him. They approached Ranger and Cal and made the introduction. They talked for a few minutes before Ranger turned away.

"Listen up," Ranger said, loudly. "This is David Calabresi and Nicholas Rossi. They are a part of the TPD bomb squad and have offered their services."

Ranger looked at the clipboard in his hands. "The teams are as follows: Manual and Landon with Pat and Ram to Steph's old apartment; Tony and Harper with Ace, Hal, and David to the Farmers' Market; Karl and Roy with Cal and Junior to Spiro's house; Frankie and Manny with Morelli, Tank, and me as well as Steph and Lula to the TriBro warehouse; David and Ike with Alex and Slick to the Pennsylvania house; Nate and Woody with Bleach, Eddie, and Nicholas to the wooded area; Vince and Zero with Snake and Oscar to Point Pleasant; Delyn and Van with Bobby and Lester to Stark Street. Any questions?" he asked, looking around. When nobody said anything he proceeded on. "It's eight-twenty-five now. I want everybody in place and ready to move by nine-thirty. Keep me updated. Let's go."

I moved to my SUV and climbed in the very back next to Lula. I was a little hacked at the team arrangements. Ranger just showed how much he didn't trust me in front of all his guys by having me and Lula tag along with him, Tank, and Morelli.

"Is there a problem," Ranger asked, looking at me in the rear-view mirror.

The word "yes" was on the tip of my tongue, but I thought about it before I said anything. Ranger was doing everything in his power to help me. He didn't have to, but he was. He didn't give it a second thought before he put a skeleton crew at RangeMan and used all the rest of his men to rescue my family. I was going to keep my mouth shut for the first time in my life and believe he had a reason for having me and Lula go with him to the warehouse.

"No," I said. "No problem at all. Thank you for everything you're doing."

Ranger's eyebrows rose, meeting his hairline. A look of shock only lasted a second or two, before a smile graced his face. Our eyes stayed locked for a moment or two, and in those few moments he let me in, telling me he loved me. With one last smile he looked away and pulled out of the RangeMan garage.

It took a bit longer than normal to get to the abandoned warehouse, since Ranger and Morelli wanted to make sure we weren't being followed. Hell I figured being followed might mean getting Mike as well. That seemed like a bonus to me. The guys felt it might mean getting blown up in the warehouse. I could see how they came to that conclusion. Mike was clearly a few beers short of a six pack.

Ranger parked behind Frankie and Manny, a little less then a block from the warehouse. I looked around Tank and stared at the single story, cinder block building that I hadn't seen in a few years. There was a moment of walking down memory lane, and I was suddenly not all that gung-ho about going into that warehouse again. The last time I was in there I was running around in the dark trying to escape a freak with a paintball gun, a pellet gun, a taser, and a twenty-two. I'd had to kill a man, and I was almost positive I might have to do the same this time around as well.

"Right behind you, Frankie," Ranger said in my ear.

_I was running in the dark, not knowing what was in front of me. Desperate to get out of the building and get help. I knew I was going to die, and I couldn't save the hostages if I was dead. I just had to get out the front doors. I'd crash right through the glass if I had to. There had to be somebody on the other side that could help. _

_I heard the gunshot as I rounded the corner. I cried out from the sting of being shot. I could feel the blood dripping down my body. I put my hand to the impact point and realized it was paint._

"_I'm right behind you," Clyde said._

"Stephanie?" Ranger said.

_I could hear Ranger, but I was still running. I was so scared. There was a crash as I broke the glass, and I jumped. I hit the ground and rolled. It hurt, there were metal gears everywhere. I was trying to run blindly in the dark, slipping and sliding on the debris._

"Babe?" Ranger said again, but this time somebody was touching me, jerking my face to look at them. I blinked a few times and was staring into the dark chocolate eyes of Tank.

"Sorry," I said, "just a little flash back."

Ranger was watching me. In fact everybody in the vehicle was watching me. I cleared my throat hoping they would all get the hint that I was fine.

"I wanna have a look around," Ranger said, breaking the silence. Morelli and Tank nodded in agreement. "You two want to come?" he asked me and Lula, his eyes still on me.

"No, I'm fine here," I said. Lula made a noise from next to me, which Ranger took as she was fine to stay behind as well. He gave me a small nod of his head, and the three of them got out and moved into the shadows quite quickly. I lost sight of them after about twenty seconds.

"You okay?" Lula asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It was just a combination of things that kind of sent me back in time," I said, staring out the front windshield

We stopped talking after that, both preparing ourselves for what was to happen in thirty minutes. We'd done drills many times, but this was the real thing. We were walking into a dangerous situation to save another person's life. There was no room for errors. Lives were at stake. Not only Connie's, but all the guys' as well.

After five minutes of silence, a voice came through the earpiece informing Ranger that the bomb under the car in the wooded area had been disabled. I let out a small sigh of relief. I knew Valerie was in the trunk of that car.

"Any movement or noises from the trunk?" Ranger asked in my ear.

"No," said a voice I shortly recognized as Woody's.

I slumped down in my seat as the knot returned in my stomach. I wanted to believe that she was just unable to move or make any noise because she was drugged or stunned. She wasn't dead. I knew she wasn't dead. I leaned my head against the cool glass of the window and listened as everybody was updating Ranger. The other bomb was disabled minutes after the first. I didn't know for sure who was in that car, but I knew it was either my mother or Albert. There still wasn't any movement from the trunk of that car either. It was like I was given a bite of something good and then slapped for thinking about enjoying it.

Ranger and the guys came back with fifteen minutes to spare. Frankie and Manny were with them as they piled in the SUV. Ranger turned in his seat, looking at Lula and me. "There are three entrances. None of them are wired. Frankie and Manny will take the back entrance, you two take the front, and Morelli, Tank, and I will take the side entrance," he told me and Lula. "We'll head in on my mark once everybody is in position. Let's get in place."

"Wait, we're separating from Steph?" Morelli questioned. "Have you considered that he's waiting for us to do just that? We leave her unprotected and we might as well personally hand her to him."

"Unprotected?" I said, rather loudly.

"We don't have time to argue. Yes, I've thought about what you're saying, Morelli," Ranger said. "But she's not unprotected. Her partner is very capable of watching her back and vise versa. We needed more than five people to cover this warehouse, that's why Steph and Lula are here with us instead of at a different location." Ranger looked at me, a grin lifting the corners of his mouth. "That and I like working with them."

That comment officially ended the conversation and we hustled to our spots, with Lula grumbling about Morelli's comments all the way. Once we were in place next to the front door, I looked across to her and smiled. "I guess you better make sure you watch my back since you need to prove to Morelli you're more then capable," I said, giggling at her narrowed eyes.

"Team positions?" Ranger requested.

I looked at Lula. What team were we? Nobody told us. I listened for a second as the guys were calling off that they were in position. They were each saying a number and a letter followed by "ready." I looked at Lula again, raising my eyebrows. She shrugged, and I suddenly felt really stupid for not asking Ranger more questions. Obviously his men knew the drill, but I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to do. And then suddenly I recognized Frankie's voice saying, "Four A, ready." Tank followed quickly with, "Four B, ready."

"Four C, ready," I said, hoping I was right. The rest of the guys went on quickly. The entire process took less then a minute and Ranger was back on.

"We move in on my mark. Clear the areas quickly. Everybody needs to be found and out before ten o'clock. Take care of interference appropriately," Ranger ordered.

My stomach was in my throat. I was scared shitless of what we were going to find once inside. I checked my gun again quickly and nodded to Lula.

"Move in," Ranger said.

I peeked through the glass door front. "Clear," I said to Lula.

Lula pushed the door open, going in first. I was at her back watching behind us. We moved into what was once the reception area. It was empty of the wood furniture and large potted plants. There were two bathroom doors lining the left side of the room. I moved to the ladies' room and pushed the door open. I crept around the corner with my gun out in front of me, clearing all three stalls before moving to the men's room and clearly it quickly.

"Mrs. Plum clear," Ace said over the radio.

"Mrs. Koughn clear," Eddie said a few seconds later.

I let out a shaky breath as I hurried along the side wall heading to the open doorway that use to sit directly behind the reception desk. Lula was right behind me. I peeked around the corner of the open doorway, knowing the hall led to the offices one way and the lunch room the other. I moved to the left along the wall toward the offices.

"Mr. Kloughn clear," a voice said that I thought sounded like Slick.

That's three safe, I told myself as I pushed open the door to Andrew Cone's old office and peeked inside. The room was empty, with nowhere to hide.

"Mr. Plum clear," Ram said and a second later Lester announced that Mary Lou was clear. I was on the verge of happy tears.

Lula moved down the hall with me watching behind us. She opened Bart's old office, and moved back out, heading to the last office at the end of the hall. She opened Clyde's old office door, and my stomach moved so high up in my throat I was seconds from hurling all over the hall. She was back out a second later. I let out a sigh as relief filled me.

"Sally Sweet clear," Junior said.

I nodded my head in the direction of the lunch room, and I had to stifle a laugh as Lula's lip curled. She clearly remembered swinging from the ceiling fan like a giant pinata.

Lula pushed the door open and moved in with me at her back. The room was clear of people, but it was also filled with cupboards. We moved to opposite ends and started opening each cupboard, quickly, but cautiously.

"Mrs. Mazur clear," Oscar said over the radio as Lula and I were leaving the lunch room.

That's everybody but Connie, I thought.

We moved down the hall a little faster and eased the door to the quality control room open. Morelli was cuffing one of Mike's guys as we walked through the area still on alert. Ranger and Tank were looking around with their guns held high as Frankie and Manny were working on releasing Connie. She was tied to a chair in the doorway to the test room. In the exact spot where I had shot and killed Clyde Cone. There was a gag in her mouth and she was blindfolded.

I stood by Ranger, keeping my eyes on alert and my gun low in front of me. Lula rushed over to help get Connie freed. Next thing I knew Connie threw herself past me at the guy Morelli had in cuffs.

"You sick fuck," she screamed, punching him from around Morelli's body. "You better pray you have a long stay in prison, because the Family will hear about this. There will be cement shoes waiting for you." Lula and I got a hold of her as Morelli was escorting the guy out of her reach.

"Connie clear," Tank said as we all moved to the closest door.

"Everybody head back to RangeMan," Ranger ordered.

My cell phone rang in my pocket just as Ranger reached the door. Everybody froze and looked at me. My hands were shaking so bad I was barely able to get the damn thing out of my pocket. I looked at the screen. Blocked number. I answered it on speaker phone.

"Hello," I said, nervously.

"Oh, bravo!" Mike's sick voice cheered through the phone. "I was so hoping you would stretch the fun out, but it was very intense watching you all storm each location at the same time." Ranger moved closer to me, causing Mike to laugh. "Always trying to protect her I see," Mike said, amused.

The guys were closing in around me with their guns aimed out at a possible target. Lula made a noise from beside me just as a shot sounded from her gun in the direction of the corner. Connie screamed and the guys were all shouting. I whipped around in time to see what was left of a camera Lula shot.

"Sorry, guess I should've gave a warnin'," Lula said, as Ranger shot a glare at her.

"Now why did you have to do that?" Mike said, angrily into the still open connection. "I want Ms. Plum to walk out the door, and get into the white SUV that is waiting for her. Once she is safely in my care I will allow the rest of you to leave uninjured."

"And why should I believe you?" I questioned.

"I've kept my word all along, Ms. Plum," Mike said. "If you refuse to come out then I will have no choice but to detonate the bomb."

"And you expect me to believe that you won't detonate it the second I'm out of the building?" I shouted, as the guys instantly started looking for the bomb.

"I give you my word, Ms. Plum," he said, as if that was supposed to convince me. "You have one minute to decide." And he hung up.

There was no need for time to decide. I moved to the door, and was about to push it open when Ranger grabbed my arm pulling me to him.

"Ranger I have to. There is no way I'm allowing any of you to be killed," I said, nearly sobbing.

"Give us a second to find the bomb," Ranger said.

It didn't matter if they found it. They wouldn't have enough time to disable it.

I leaned up and kissed Ranger hard on the mouth. "I'm walking out that door now. I'm going to open it very slow, and I'm going to walk away from the building even slower. He wants me, Ranger. He's not going to blow me up. I'm going to give you all time to get out the back door," I said.

Ranger nodded, and everybody but him quickly moved toward the back door. He kissed me slowly and whispered "I love you," against my lips. And then he was gone.

I took a deep breath, clipped my gun back on my hip, and slowly pushed the door open. The sun hit my eyes, blurring my vision for a moment. I stepped out of the building, the door shutting loudly behind me causing me to jump. I could see Mike climbing out of the white SUV fifty or so feet from me. He was holding up a hand held device. There was no way for me to know if he was actually telling the truth or not about the bomb, but my gut told me he was.

I moved slowly toward him with my hands in the air, showing myself as no threat. My heart was pounding harder with every step I took. I was so scared he'd blow the building before everybody got out. It was a good thing Lula shot the camera, or we wouldn't have been able to pull the escape off.

"We're out, Babe," Ranger said in my ear. I let out a sob and momentarily stopped walking. "It's okay. Just keep walking, slowly. I'm right here with you. Try to keep him here for a bit. Lester, Bobby, Ace, and Hal are on the way. They'll be blocking his rear exit. Lula and Connie took Mike's guy back to the Buick. Frankie and Manny are coming around the front of the warehouse, to block his side exit. Tank and Joe moved to his front exit."

Tears were falling down my cheeks as I listened to Ranger talk. I just wanted him to keep talking. I knew he was alive as long as he was talking to me.

"Stop there, Ms. Plum," Mike said, loudly from the front of his SUV. I stopped with my arms still raised. "Remove the utility belt, and toss it aside."

I slowly lowered my hands to the clasp on my utility belt. I unhooked it, swung it around to hold it in one hand, unhooked the earpiece from the radio, and tossed the belt to the side. I still had my earpiece and throat mic on, but I couldn't hear anybody anymore. Ranger's voice was keeping me calm, and now that was gone. My heart was speeding back up and I was shaking. I wasn't scared for everybody else anymore, though. I was scared of the unknown. I felt like I was walking to hell. The devil was watching me, drawing me closer.

"Now that's better," Mike said, smiling. "Keep walking, Ms. Plum."

I started moving toward him again. I didn't bother to raise my hands. I still had a gun on me, but it was at my ankle, and there was no way I would be able to get it out in a hurry. I refused to hop around on one foot like a fool, while trying to get the gun out of the ankle band. More than anything I didn't know what Ranger's plan was. He didn't tell me before I had to remove his calm voice. He wanted me to keep Mike here for as long as I could, but then what?

When I was a few steps from Mike, he pulled a gun out from the small of his back and pointed it at me. "I know you're like a deadly weapon even without a gun, so I'm not taking any chances this time," he said, jerking his head to the back seat of the vehicle. "Climb in the back seat and slide all the way over."

I flicked my eyes to the back seat and back to him. I had to stall for a bit. "I'm not getting in until you drop the detonator," I said, keeping my eyes trained on him.

"This detonator," Mike said, holding it closer to me. And with a sick little smile he pushed the button causing a loud explosion behind me.

I spun around and watched the door that I came out of moments ago flying through the air, as black smoke waft from the doorway. In a moment of shock, I completely forgot nobody was in the building. I screamed and spun back around to Mike, knocking the gun to the side and connected a right-cross to his jaw. I was coming at him again when he jerked my head back by my ponytail and put the barrel of his gun to my eye. I gasped in pain, but didn't move. My eyes were focused on the gun. He jerked my hair a little harder, but I refused to show him how much it hurt. I was sick of him playing with me.

"I sure hope you got a goodbye kiss, Sweet Thing," Mike said, laughing.

And then he crashed his lips down on mine, causing the gun to slip to my temple. I jerked my knee up hard, nailing him in the nuts, as I pushed him away. He groaned loudly, dropping to his knees and pulling me down with him by my hair. I screamed out, arching my head back to relieve the pain. I was down on one knee, my hands flat on the ground. I went for the gun on my ankle, shoving it in the back of my jeans, while Mike was distracted.

Mike was making a high keening noise. "You bitch," he yelled, backhanding me. I yelped, tasting blood in my mouth.

He stood up, jerking me up by my hair. He pushed the gun to the middle of my forehead. "I should just blow your fucking head off now, bitch," he shouted, jerking my head back further.

I was gasping in pain, and I could feel blood running along my jaw, to my ear.

"Get your hands off my woman," I heard Ranger say from close by. His voice was so low I could barely hear him over my hammering heart and short raspy breaths.

"Don't you ever fucking die?" Mike roared his voice braver than his shaking hands.

"Let go of her. I won't tell you again," Ranger said.

"Drop the gun, Nickels," Joe shouted from my right. "Your daddy can't save you this time."

"It doesn't matter. She's dead no matter what," Mike spat, pushing the gun harder against my forehead.

He wasn't going to let me go, I knew that. I had to get myself away from him long enough to allow the guys to take him down. I only had one shot at it, though. He'd been pushed too far. If I fucked up trying to get away I was dead.

I slowly turned, relieving the pressure to my head. Mike seemed to be too distracted by the number of guns aimed at him to notice I was moving. Now I was able to see Ranger. He was standing behind Mike with his gun trained on the back of Mike's head. I took a deep breath and slowly pulled the gun from the small of my back. I shoved my arm into Mike's gun hand, forcing it away from my forehead, while I jabbed the butt of my gun into his bicep, hitting the sensitive nerves that ran to his hand. With my hair free I spun away from him, catching him with a throat jab. He instantly grabbed at his neck, shock written in his eyes. He stumbled back a step and raised his gun at me. I saw his finger pulling the trigger, as I raised my own gun and fired off a shot. I was thrown back, all air leaving my lungs as his bullet made contact with my vest. I fell onto the concrete, the back of my head exploding as it bounced off the asphalt, sending me into blackness.


	21. Chapter Twenty

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, I'm not making any money, and all the wonderful characters belong to JE. This story takes place 9 weeks after TS ends. It was my thought for Lean Mean Thirteen. I took the Lean and Mean to heart. I'm sure most people have read this, but if you haven't, I hope you enjoy it. This was my very first fan fiction. I've since went back and did a lot of work on it. Same plot, but I've added and deleted and just all around cleaned it up.**_

_**Rating: R**_

_**Warnings: Violence, foul language, and sex**_

_**Thanks to Stayce my fabulous editor. **_

_*****Completely and seriously reedited*****_

**Learning Thirteen**

**Chapter Twenty**

Uhhhg! I hurt everywhere. Even in places I didn't know could hurt … like my hair. I could hear muffled noise all around me, and it wasn't doing anything to make me feel better. I wished they'd shut the hell up. Didn't they realize my head was about to explode? I cracked my eyes open and a face appeared in front of me. I was pretty sure it was Ranger, but he was oddly distorted. I blinked a few times, trying to focus. His face cleared up enough for me to see he was talking to me, but I couldn't hear shit over the ringing in my ears.

"What?" I said, but that's not how it sounded coming out.

A few more people moved in around me, and I lost sight of Ranger. I tried to turn my head to find him, but my head just flopped to the side. Hands were securing me in place, and I was suddenly jerked up sending vomit straight up my throat. I lifted my head and got whoever was standing next to me.

I was wheeled up into the back of an ambulance. I was dizzy, my ears were still ringing, I couldn't remember where I was or what happened, and I desperately just wanted to go to sleep. Everything I looked at was fuzzy around the edges, and hell I think I even saw some floating stars. That couldn't be right, though. How were they floating?

I felt lips brush across my forehead, just as the ambulance doors slammed shut. I closed my eyes wanting to fall asleep. Anything to make the pain go away, but sleep didn't come. Somebody with an annoying voice kept asking me questions. I couldn't understand anything he was saying. Hell I could barely see his lips moving. I didn't have a clue why I was even in an ambulance. He moved closer to my face and was shining a light in my eyes. I squeezed them shut. I had enough fucking twinkling lights all on my own.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I opened my eyes, blinking a few times attempting to clear the black dots dancing in front of my eyes. It was a pointless. They kept dancing, getting bigger and smaller and multiplying.

I turned my head, following the voice in my ear. The dots joined the blurry outline of the guy's face. I could see his lips moving. I tried to concentrate on what he was saying.

"Do you know what happened?" he asked me.

I stared at him. What happened with what? I didn't know what he was talking about. "I don't know," I said.

"Do you know your name?" he asked.

More questions. Why was he asking me so many questions? I shook my head. "I don't know. I don't know anything," I said. "Just stop talking. My head hurts."

"I know your head hurts, but I need to get the extent of your injuries," he said. "Do you remember what happened just before you hit your head?"

"I hit my head?" I asked.

"Do you know what day it is?" the annoying man asked.

I thought about it for a second. Surely I'd know what day it was. If only my ears would stop ringing, maybe my head would stop hurting.

I felt a hand entwine with mine. I turned my head. "Ranger," I said, quietly.

"I'm right here, Babe," he said softly in my ear.

"Tired and my head hurts," I said, looking at him.

Ranger let go of my hand and moved out the doors, towards a bright light. Then my bed was moving. Why was I on a bed that moved? I couldn't remember where I was. Was I dreaming? I was so tired and there was all this ringing.

"My name is Dr. Scott," a man said, while walking beside my moving bed. He must be part of my dream too. I didn't know him, though. I closed my eyes and let the low hum of his voice lull me to sleep.

Soft hands were running across my forehead. It felt nice. My head really hurt. The hands moved down my neck and lips took their place on my forehead. "Babe," the lips whispered over and over again, pulling my eyes open.

I looked into Ranger's eyes. "Ranger?" I questioned.

"Do you know where you are?" a voice on my right asked.

I turned my head and saw a man dressed in a white coat watching me. "No," I said, and then I started looking around. "But I'm going to take a guess at the hospital."

"Good guess," he said, smiling.

"And why am I at the hospital?" I asked.

"Do you remember your name?" Dr. Scott asked.

"Stephanie Plum."

"Good. And the day of the week?" he asked.

"Are we on the same day?" I asked Ranger and got a small smile in return. "Saturday."

The doctor smiled. "Do you remember my name?" he asked.

Well that was a dumb questioned. "You never told me your name," I said, looking at him.

"I told you my name when you got here," he said.

"I don't remember that."

"I'm Dr. Scott," he said again apparently. "You hit your head about thirty minutes ago, Ms. Plum. What do you remember before that?" he asked me.

I thought about it for a moment. "I remember finding Connie and getting the all clear from the other teams. Then Mike called my cell telling us about the bomb in the building. I went out to meet him, and he blew up the building. We fought, and I was able to get my gun," I said, pausing to think some more. "I don't really remember much after that."

"And what's the first thing you remember after waking up?" Dr. Scott asked while writing stuff on a clipboard.

"You asking me if I knew where I was," I said.

"This is the second time you woke up," he said, getting out a penlight from his pocket. He flashed it at my eyes. "Do you remember the first time?"

I saw a flash of light and this annoying voice asking me questions over and over again. "I was in an ambulance. The guy was flashing a light in my eyes. He asked me my name and the day and what happened before I hit my head," I said.

"Good," Dr. Scott said. "Anything else?"

I closed my eyes. "Mike had my hair and a gun to my forehead. I got out of the hold and caught him with a throat jab. He stumbled back a few steps. He raised his gun and pulled the trigger just as I pulled mine. His bullet hit me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me. I fell back and hit my head," I said, opening my eyes.

"Very good, Ms. Plum," Dr. Scott said. "You have a grade III concussion and a very large bruise on your chest where the bullet hit your vest. You're very lucky considering the distance you were from his gun. It's going to take days and most likely weeks before all the symptoms of the concussion are gone. We're going to keep you here overnight to monitor you, but you seem to be coming out of it nicely. We'll get you moved out of ER in a moment. I believe there is quite a large crowd waiting to hear how you are," he said, patting my shoulder, and then headed out of the curtained off area.

An older woman came in seconds after Dr. Scott left. "We're going to get you moved now, honey, and into a more comfortable bed," she told me, moving to the top of my bed.

Ranger leaned over me and brushed a kiss across my forehead. "I'm going to let everybody know what's going on, Babe," he said. "I'll see you in a bit."

"We'll be in room 213," the woman told Ranger.

He left the room and my bed started moving. "The waiting room is full of very scary and very handsome men," she told me while pushing me through a set of doors.

I smiled as my eyes slowly slid closed. I was very tired, and my head was still pounding. A small nap wouldn't hurt. Ranger would wake me up when he got into my room.

I could hear soft talking, but I couldn't make anything out. I slowly started opening my eyes. Ranger was slouched down in the chair next to my bed. He turned his head and met my eyes.

"Water?"

Ranger grabbed a cup from the side table and tipped it toward me so I could suck from the straw. When I was finished he sat it back down and leaned forward, taking my hand. "How are you feeling, Babe?"

"My head still hurts, but I don't feel all dazed anymore," I said, lacing my fingers with his.

"That's good to hear," he said, smiling.

I looked around the room. Lula was in the chair on the other side of my bed with Tank standing right behind her, Morelli was leaning against the end of my bed, Ace and Hal were leaning against the wall close to the door, and Bobby was propped up on the window ledge. I didn't see Lester anywhere. I scanned the room again, and could feel the panic rushing through me. Did something happen to him? Ranger would've said something if he'd been hurt. And then the door opened and Lester walked in holding …

"Donuts," I said, smiling.

Ranger chuckled next to me.

"It's good to see your beautiful blues, Sweetie," Lester said, handing me the bag

"I love you," I said, pulling a Boston Cream from the bag.

Lester laughed. "That's all it takes, huh?"

"What can I say, I'm a simple girl," I said after swallowing a mouth full.

Ranger leaned in, touching his lips to my ear. "The doughnuts are from me. I just didn't want to leave you to get them," he whispered, his hot breath sending tingles through my body right to my center.

I turned my head, capturing his lips in a light kiss. "I'll thank you properly once I'm out of this place," I said with a mischievous grin.

Somebody cleared their throat, and I looked away from Ranger. Everybody was smiling, except Joe. I knew it was going to take a long time before he'd accept my relationship with Ranger, if ever.

"Mike?" I asked while grabbing another doughnut from the bag.

"Dead," Ranger answered.

"Very dead," Lester added, sitting on the end of my bed.

"Saved time in the autopsy," Ace said. "The medical examiner can skip the step where he has to drain the bodily fluids."

I lifted my eyebrow. "Exactly how many times was he shot?" I asked.

"Ten," Ranger answered.

"Ten!" I repeated, shocked.

"A bullet from each of us there, but I'm pretty sure nine of them were pointless," Bobby said.

I looked at Ranger. There was no doubt in my mind that his bullet went into Mike's head. Ranger wouldn't shoot to wound when Mike had just shot me.

"Is everybody okay?" I asked.

"Everybody's fine, Babe," Ranger said. "The guys brought your family in to be checked out, and they stopped by, but you were sleeping. They didn't want to wake you."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost two hours," Ranger told me.

"And Mike's guys?"

"He had six guys working with him. They've all been arrested, and we picked up his girlfriend, too," Joe said.

A nurse came bustling in the door and shook her head at the full room. "Alright, visiting time is over. Ms. Plum needs rest not all this excitement," she said. "Now everybody out."

"I'll call ya tomorrow, girlfriend," Lula said, dragging Tank out behind her.

"Get some rest, Steph," Tank said at the door.

Bobby, Ace, and Hal shuffled out the door right behind Tank calling out their goodbyes.

Lester hopped off the end of my bed and kissed my forehead. "Call me the next time you've got a job that comes up. I want first dibs," he said, winking at me before walking out the door.

Joe walked around the bed and looked down at me. He fingered a curl and gave it a gentle tug. "That was some impressive hand work you did to get away from Mike, Cupcake," he told me. He was proud of me.

Joe's eyes left mine and found Ranger's. "Mind if I kiss your woman?"

My mouth drop open. I looked over at Ranger, and he was grinning. I wasn't sure what the grin meant, but I kinda thought he was giving Joe permission to give me a kiss. I was feeling slightly outraged. After all they're MY lips! Shouldn't I be the one to give permission for said kiss?

Joe held Ranger's eyes for a moment longer, and something clearly passed between them. Joe looked back down at me and gave me a soft smile. "I'll see you around, Cupcake," he said. "Call me sometime and we'll have dinner and catch a game."

"Sure," I said, smiling.

He leaned down and kissed the corner of my mouth, and then walked out the door.

I looked over at Ranger. He was smiling at me, his eyes amused, affectionate, tired. "I can't believe he asked you for permission to kiss me," I said.

Ranger smiled and kissed the palm of my hand. "Get some sleep, Steph," he said, running his thumb over my knuckles. "I know you're still tired, and the nurses are going to be waking you every two hours."

"Are you leaving?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I'll be right here."

I rolled onto my side, facing him and tried to relax enough to fall asleep. I was tired, but my mind wouldn't shut down. Surprising since two hours ago I couldn't make it focus for the life of me. I looked at Ranger again. He was watching me, his eyebrow raised in question.

"I can't relax. My mind is buzzing too much," I told him.

He let go of my hand, removed his boots, climbed over me, and snuggled in behind me, tucking me securely in his arms. "I'm tired, too. We'll both sleep," he said, kissing my temple.

I sighed snuggling in deeper in his arms. I listened to Ranger's even breathing hoping it would help me drift to sleep. It wasn't working. I was tired, why couldn't I get to sleep? I felt Ranger's arms tighten around me. Everything was over. Mike was dead, all his guys were in jail, and there was nothing left to deal with. Nothing, but the adult talk Ranger and I still needed to have. I wasn't good with adult talks. With Joe, I just took a time out long enough to escape having to really deal with the problem. We'd get back together a few weeks later and all was forgotten. Until the next fight. Ranger wouldn't let all be forgotten. He'd want to deal with it. He'd push to know why I accused him of using our sexual relationship to control me. Did I think he'd do that, though? No. So why did that come out of my mouth? I didn't realize Ranger was talking about me getting shot as the change in circumstances, but why did I immediately think it was because we were sleeping together?

"Ranger?"

"Yeah, Babe," he said, softly.

"I'm sorry," I said, not even sure why it came out of my mouth.

Ranger was silent for a moment. "What's this about?" he asked.

"What I said the other day."

"I know you're sorry, Steph," he said. "We don't need to talk about this right now."

"Yes we do," I said. "I don't really know why I said it, Ranger."

"Babe."

"I've thought about it, and I know you'd never use our sexual relationship to control me. I just can't figure out why when you said circumstances were different I immediately thought you meant because we were sleeping together."

Ranger didn't say anything. He was letting me work it out on my own.

"Everything between us has happened so fast, and it's all so new. At times I can't help but think that too good to be true," I said. "You've always said your lifestyle doesn't lend itself to relationships and your love needs a condom, but doesn't come with a ring. Do you remember the day in my kitchen with Morelli?"

"I do," Ranger said, while running his fingers up and down my arm.

"I told him I didn't know where what we had was going, or what was going to happen, but that I was just going to enjoy the ride and not worry about it. I figured we were just going from one day to the next, and I'd have you as long as you allowed it. I was fine with that. I accepted it. But then suddenly it wasn't like that at all. Circumstances were different. We weren't just in a sexual relationship, but in an actual real relationship. With commitments."

Ranger continued to run his fingers up and down my arm, listening to me talk.

"Right when Lester got to my apartment and you two were talking, I started getting this bad feeling that I was about to be handled. Then you said we needed to talk, and the feeling came back. After everything that already happened, all the letters, too much emotional stuff, I got mad, and I wasn't thinking clearly. I don't know if it was insecurity that made me say it or if it was that I hurt so badly already and I just wanted somebody else to hurt," I admitted. "I'm really sorry. I know in my head and heart when I'm completely rational, that you'd never try to control me."

"If it was insecurity then we need to work on that," Ranger finally said. "I know I've done and said a lot of things in the past, and I can't erase them. But you need to stop replaying the past in your head. We're together. It's not just about sex. I'm emotionally and physically attached to you. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."

I brought Ranger's hand to my mouth and kissed his fingers.

"I'm more inclined to believe it was an emotional response, though. I've had time to think it over too, Babe. You've had a lot of emotional responses since all this started. Lester at the gun range & me with the picture of your family. You've been through a lot. I think you really were just mad and hurting and you lashed out without thinking. It happens sweetheart. Especially with our line of work. But please in the future, remember I'm not the bad guy." Ranger wrapped his arms around me, bringing me closer to him. "Sleep, Babe."

I couldn't help the tears. He was right. I lashed out at everybody lately. Mike screwed with my head completely. I owned all the guys a really nice night out as a thank you and an apology. But Ranger I owed him a lot more. He was extremely understanding, and I was very grateful for it.

"Thank you," I said, lacing our fingers together. "But one other thing."

"What's that babe."

"About getting married."

Ranger's chest vibrated behind me with silent laughter. "I can see you don't plan on sleeping," he said.

"I decided that maybe I don't really want to get married after all."

"Someday," Ranger said.

"Someday?" I said, turning to look him in the eyes.

"Someday I'll put a ring on your finger, and someday I'll make you my wife," he said and kissed me tenderly. "For now, we sleep. I'll still be here when you wake up."

THE END


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